1997 Minnesota Statutes

     169.447 School bus and Head Start bus safety. 

    Subdivision 1.    Passenger seating.  (a) The number of 
 pupils or other authorized passengers transported in a school 
 bus or Head Start bus must not be more than the number of pupils 
 or passengers that can be fully seated.  Seating capacity must 
 be adjusted according to each passenger's individual physical 
 size, but not more than the manufacturers' rated seating 
 capacity. 

    (b) No person shall stand in the school bus or Head Start 
 bus when the bus is in motion.  

    Subd. 2.    Driver seat belts.  New school buses and 
 Head Start buses manufactured after December 31, 1994, must be 
 equipped with driver seat belts and seat belt assemblies of the 
 type described in section 169.685, subdivision 3.  School bus 
 drivers and Head Start bus drivers must use these seat belts. 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1994 c 647 art 12 s 43 

    Subd. 4.    Aisle and exit.  The driver of a school bus 
 or Head Start bus shall keep the aisle and emergency exit of a 
 school bus or Head Start bus unobstructed at all times when 
 children are being transported.  

    Subd. 5.    Trailer behind school bus.  A school bus may 
 pull a trailer, as defined by section 169.01, subdivision 10, 
 only when traveling to or from cocurricular or extracurricular 
 activities, as defined in section 123.38. 

    Subd. 6.    Overhead book racks; storage compartments.  
 School buses may be equipped with padded, permanent overhead 
 book racks that do not hang over the center aisle of the bus.  
 School buses manufactured after January 1, 1998, may also be 
 equipped with interior overhead storage compartments provided 
 they meet the requirements of the 1995 "National Standards for 
 School Buses and School Bus Operations." 

    HIST: 1991 c 277 s 9; 1994 c 603 s 9; 1994 c 647 art 12 s 21; 
 1Sp1997 c 4 art 12 s 8