Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Transportation › Chapter Trans 300 - Transportation Of School Children › Subchapter II - Equipment Standards › Section Trans 300.35 - Construction

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) The construction shall be of prime
				commercial quality steel or other metal, or material with strength at least
				equivalent to all-steel, as certified by the bus body manufacturer, except for
				the grill, hood, or fenders and shall comply with FMVSS 220, school bus
				rollover protection. Type A-I, B, C or D school buses shall comply with FMVSS
				221, school bus body joint strength.
(2) The construction shall provide a
				reasonably dustproof and weather tight unit. Openings between the chassis and
				passenger compartment shall be sealed to prevent fumes or exhaust gas from
				entering the bus body.
(3) The
				floor or subfloor shall be of prime commercial quality steel of at least 14
				gauge or material with strength at least equivalent to all-steel, as certified
				by the bus body manufacturer. Plywood may be used in addition to other flooring
				material. The floor shall be level from front to back and from side to side
				except in the wheel housing, toeboard, and driver's seat platform areas. The
				body cross members below the floor may have no more than 2 consecutive and no
				more than 3 total members that are completely rusted through.
(4) For type A-I, B, C or D buses, all joints
				within bus bodies which employ discrete fasteners, specifically those which
				join panels to panels, shall achieve a significant portion of the strength of
				the parent metal, so that all available panel materials are capable of serving
				as part of the structure.
(5) All
				metal used in construction of the bus body shall be zinc- or aluminum-coated or
				treated by an equivalent process before the bus is constructed. Included are
				such items as structural members, inside and outside panels, floor panels and
				floor sill. Excluded are the door handles, grab handles, stanchions, interior
				decorative parts, and other interior plated parts.
(6) Annually between December 1 and December
				15, each school bus manufacturer shall certify to the department that all
				school buses manufactured for sale in Wisconsin in the following calendar year
				will comply with this section. The certification shall be filed in the division
				of state patrol. The certification may be addressed to the administrator,
				division of state patrol, P.O. Box 7912, Madison, WI 53707-7912.
(7) Each school bus body manufacturer shall
				stamp the letters "WI" either preceding or following the body identification
				number to indicate that the bus body was built to meet Wisconsin school bus
				construction standards. The school bus body manufacturer shall furnish to the
				department a blueprint indicating the size and placement of the "WI"
				requirement on its buses to be sold in Wisconsin. A sample plate shall be
				furnished by the manufacturer to the division of state patrol showing the
				placement of the "WI". This subsection does not apply to vehicles in use as
				school buses in Wisconsin prior to March 1, 1979.
(8) The owner of any vehicle previously
				marked, registered, or titled in another jurisdiction as a school bus shall,
				prior to using the vehicle for any pupil transportation in Wisconsin, submit
				the vehicle for department inspection and approval as provided by s.
				Trans
				300.13(3). In addition, the owner
				shall provide proof satisfactory to the division of state patrol that the
				vehicle is constructed in compliance with this section.