NHTSA removes obsolete bus emergency exit rules for older school buses

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is finalizing a rule that deletes outdated safety requirements from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 217. These specific requirements applied only to school buses manufactured before September 1, 1994. Since no new buses of this vintage are being produced, the rules effectively covered vehicles that are already decades old and largely off the road or in long-term storage.

Why it matters: This is primarily an administrative cleanup. Removing obsolete language prevents confusion in the regulatory code and ensures that compliance checks do not reference requirements that cannot apply to any currently manufactured vehicle. It reduces paperwork for agencies and manufacturers without altering actual safety protections for today’s drivers or passengers.

Who it affects

• NHTSA, which no longer needs to enforce these specific historical standards

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This final rule was issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration within the Transportation Department; consult the Federal Register entry for the full legal text.

Agency: Transportation Department, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Source: Federal Register — read the official document