Section 27316 Of Article 3. Safety Belts And Inflatable Restraint Systems From California Vehicle Code >> Division 12. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 3.
27316
. (a) Unless specifically prohibited by the National Highway
Transportation Safety Administration, all schoolbuses purchased or
leased for use in California shall be equipped at all designated
seating positions with a combination pelvic and upper torso passenger
restraint system, if the schoolbus is either of the following:
(1) Type 1, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of
Section 1201 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, and
is manufactured on or after July 1, 2005.
(2) Type 2, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 1201 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations, and
is manufactured on or after July 1, 2004.
(b) For purposes of this section, a "passenger restraint system"
means any of the following:
(1) A restraint system that is in compliance with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 209, for a type 2 seatbelt assembly, and with
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 210, as those standards were
in effect on the date the schoolbus was manufactured.
(2) A restraint system certified by the schoolbus manufacturer
that is in compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 222
and incorporates a type 2 lap/shoulder restraint system.
(c) No person, school district, or organization, with respect to a
schoolbus equipped with passenger restraint systems pursuant to this
section, may be charged for a violation of this code or any
regulation adopted thereunder requiring a passenger to use a
passenger restraint system, if a passenger on the schoolbus fails to
use or improperly uses the passenger restraint system.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature, in implementing this
section, that school pupil transportation providers work to
prioritize the allocation of schoolbuses purchased, leased, or
contracted for on or after July 1, 2004, for type 2 schoolbuses, or
on or after July 1, 2005, for type 1 schoolbuses, to ensure that
elementary level schoolbus passengers receive first priority for new
schoolbuses whenever feasible.