2020 Minnesota Statutes

169.451 INSPECTING SCHOOL AND HEAD START BUSES; RULES; MISDEMEANOR.

Subdivision 1.Annual requirement.

The Minnesota State Patrol shall inspect every school bus and every Head Start bus annually to ascertain whether its construction, design, equipment, and color comply with all provisions of law.

Subd. 2.Inspection certificate.

Except as provided in subdivision 2a, no person shall drive, or no owner shall knowingly permit or cause to be driven, any school bus or Head Start bus unless there is displayed thereon a certificate issued by the commissioner of public safety stating that on a certain date, which shall be within 13 months of the date of operation, a member of the Minnesota State Patrol inspected the bus and found that on the date of inspection the bus complied with the applicable provisions of state law relating to construction, design, equipment, and color.

Subd. 2a.Interim inspection; certificate.

In lieu of the certificate required in subdivision 2, a new or used school bus being sold by a dealer in this state may display an interim inspection certificate. The school bus dealer completing the preregistration certificate required in section 168.102 may inspect the bus to determine if the bus complies with the applicable provisions of state law relating to construction, design, equipment, and color. If the bus complies with the applicable provisions of state law, the dealer may affix the interim inspection certificate to the school bus, indicating that on the date of the inspection, the bus complied with the applicable provisions of state law relating to construction, design, equipment, and color. The interim certificate must include the date of the inspection and must be valid until the owner's next scheduled annual inspection, but must not be valid for more than 12 months following the month of the initial inspection. The commissioner must provide the prescribed interim inspection certificates at no cost to the dealer.

Subd. 3.Rules of commissioner.

(a) The commissioner of public safety shall provide by rule for the issuance and display of distinctive inspection certificates.

(b) The commissioner of public safety shall provide by rule a point system for evaluating the effect on safety operation of any variance from law detected during inspections conducted pursuant to subdivision 1.

Subd. 4.Violation; penalty.

The State Patrol shall enforce subdivisions 2 and 2a. A person who operates a school bus without a valid inspection certificate issued pursuant to subdivision 2 or an interim inspection certificate issued pursuant to subdivision 2a is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 5.Random spot inspection.

In addition to the annual inspection, the Minnesota State Patrol has authority to conduct random, unannounced spot inspections of any school bus or Head Start bus being operated within the state to ascertain whether it is in compliance with provisions of law, including the Minnesota school bus equipment standards in sections 169.4501 to 169.4504, subject to the procedures approved by the commissioner.

History:

1971 c 327 s 1; 1973 c 80 s 1; 1974 c 332 s 3; 1981 c 37 s 2; 1981 c 357 s 61; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 28; 1991 c 277 s 12; 1994 c 603 s 12; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 2 s 35; 1998 c 398 art 6 s 31; 2020 c 100 s 8-10