School Bus: Emergency Exits
14 questions in the bank cover this topic. Everything below is drawn from the sources those questions cite.
Sources: 49 CFR 571.217
What you need to know
FMVSS 217 S5.2.1 gives other buses a choice between two schemes but holds school buses to S5.2.3 specifically.
Children cannot be relied on to work out a complicated exit, so the school bus scheme is prescriptive. Other buses may choose between S5.2.2 and S5.2.3.
Buses other than school buses shall meet the requirements of either S5.2.2 or S5.2.3. School buses shall meet the requirements of S5.2.3.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.3.3.1 requires operation without tools or remote controls and regardless of power system failure.
In a crash the electrics are the first thing to fail, so a powered exit would be no exit. It must also work despite any failure of the vehicle's power system.
The release mechanism shall operate without the use of remote controls or tools, and notwithstanding any failure of the vehicle's power system.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.3.3.1 requires release from inside and outside by one person.
Rescuers arriving from outside need in, and children inside need out, and neither can wait for the other. A single person must be able to do it from either side.
each school bus emergency exit door shall allow manual release of the door by a single person, from both inside and outside the passenger compartment
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.3.3.1 requires an audible warning at both the driver's position and near the door itself.
A door ajar is both a fall hazard and a sign the exit has been tampered with. It must be audible near the exit door as well.
When the release mechanism is not in the position that causes an emergency exit door to be closed and the vehicle's ignition is in the “on” position, a continuous warning sound shall be audible at the driver's seating position and in the vicinity of the emergency exit door.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.3.3.1(b) specifies upward from inside.
Buses of 10,000 pounds GVWR or less may use an upward or a pull-type motion, with pull permitted only where the handle is recessed.
Type of motion: Upward from inside the bus and, at the discretion of the manufacturer, from outside the bus.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.4.2.1(b) sets 41 cm by 41 cm for a school bus roof exit, openable by a single person.
Note the window exit standard uses the 50 by 33 cm ellipsoid instead.
each emergency roof exit of a school bus shall, under the conditions of S6, before and after the window retention test required by S5.1, using the force levels specified in S5.3.3, be manually extendable by a single person to a position that permits an opening at least 41 centimeters high and 41 centimeters wide.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.4.2.1(a)(3)(i) requires a positive door opening device, which holds the door open once released.
A door that swung shut again, or that gravity closed with the bus on its side, would trap the occupants.
Each emergency exit door of a school bus shall be equipped with a positive door opening device
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.4.2.2 substitutes a 45 by 22 by 6 inch parallelepiped for the smaller school bus, while all the other S5.4.2 provisions still apply.
A school bus with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less shall conform to all the provisions of S5.4.2, except that the parallelepiped dimension for the opening of the rear emergency door or doors shall be 45 inches high, 22 inches wide, and six inches deep.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.4.3.1(b) keeps anchorages clear of the rear exit's required clearance volume and its downward projection.
Tracks and track-type mounting devices are excepted by S5.4.3.2. That includes the downward vertical projection of the clearance parallelepiped.
In the case of rear emergency exit doors in school buses, using the parallelepiped described in S5.4.2.1(a)(1)
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.4.4 caps protrusion at 25 mm for buses manufactured on or after 30 October 2027.
A latch sticking into the opening can catch clothing on a child climbing out. None of the figures offered is the one the rule gives.
any emergency exit window latch and other related release mechanisms shall not protrude more than 25 mm (1 inch) into the opening of the emergency exit window when that window is in the open position
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.5.3(a) sets 5 cm minimum in a contrasting color.
For doors the designation goes at the top of or directly above the exit, on BOTH the inside and outside surfaces.
Each school bus emergency exit provided in accordance with S5.2.3.1 shall have the designation “Emergency Door” or “Emergency Exit,” as appropriate, in letters at least 5 centimeters high, of a color that contrasts with its background.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.5.3(b) puts them beside the mechanism, because that is where someone will be looking when they need them.
1 cm letters, contrasting color. The letters must be in a contrasting color, on the inside.
Concise operating instructions describing the motions necessary to unlatch and open the emergency exit shall be located within 15 centimeters of the release mechanism on the inside surface of the bus. These instructions shall be in letters at least 1 centimeter high
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.5.3(d) requires DO NOT BLOCK near each emergency exit designation on buses with wheelchair positions.
A securement position near an exit is exactly where a blockage is likely. It goes beneath or above each emergency exit designation.
The label shall state in letters at least 25 mm (one inch) high, the words “DO NOT BLOCK” in a color that contrasts with the background of the label.
49 CFR 571.217
FMVSS 217 S5.5.3(a) allows the exit surface itself or within 30 cm of the opening.
In a rollover the roof exit may be the only usable way out, so it must be findable from inside. Measured from the opening.
The designation for roof exits shall be located on an inside surface of the exit, or within 30 centimeters of the roof exit opening.
49 CFR 571.217
Check yourself
- How do your emergency exit requirements differ for school buses?
- What must be true of your school bus emergency exit door release?
- From where must a school bus emergency exit door be releasable?
- What is the consequence if a school bus emergency exit door is not properly closed with the ignition on?
- What motion must release a school bus emergency exit door from inside?
- What minimum opening must a school bus emergency roof exit provide?
- What device must each school bus emergency exit door have in addition to its release?
- What rear emergency door opening applies to a school bus of 10,000 pounds GVWR or less?
- What restriction applies to wheelchair securement anchorages near a school bus rear emergency exit?
- From 30 October 2027, how far may an emergency exit window latch protrude into the open window opening?
- How must a school bus emergency exit be labeled?
- Where must the operating instructions for your school bus emergency exit be placed?
- What label is required on your school bus with wheelchair anchorage positions?
- Where must the designation for your school bus roof exit be placed?
Answers are in the practice test for this topic.