We would like to update you on two California school bus safety laws that set compliance deadlines for schools. AB 1798 requires that all school buses in use in California be equipped with a passenger restraint system by July 1, 2035. AB 1840 extends a deadline for installing child safety alert systems-- devices located at the interior rear of a vehicle that require the driver to inspect the bus for any remaining pupils before exiting.
Seat belts have been mandated on all newly purchased school buses in California since 2005. The new measure requires all school buses in use by the 2035-2036 fiscal year to be equipped with legally-compliant passenger restraint systems.
In recent years, both the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have recognized that, while school bus seats are excellent at protecting pupils in front-impact crashes, they are less effective in side-impact or rollover accidents. Therefore, both agencies now recommend that children have three-point seatbelts on school buses.
California Highway Patrol estimates that 54.4 percent of California school buses had passenger restraint systems as of 2016. Because school buses have a working life of 30 years, most school buses without seat belts will already be out of commission by 2035. For this reason, AB 1798 is unlikely to cause school districts extra costs.
A 2016 statute required that certain school buses be equipped with child safety alert systems by the 2018-2019 school year. Many local educational agencies have had difficulty meeting the original deadline, as manufacturers and installers of the systems have been unable to keep up with demand. AB 1840 provided a six-month extension, until March 1, 2019. Smaller school districts (with an average daily attendance of less than 4,000) that cannot meet the March 1, 2019 deadline, must submit to the Department of Motor Vehicles documentation that it has ordered or purchased the child safety alert systems. Those districts may receive an additional six months extension, to September 1, 2019.
Additional details about these two school bus safety laws are in our recent Briefing.