School buses not allowed on highways?

[ptge57]

Possibly there's a law that says students have to ride in official school buses to and from sports events, an rv or skoolie would not qualify to haul students.

[Outlawfarmer]

I bought my short bus in NY. Then drove it home to NH. My little town clerk titled it as a van. Had she titled it as a RV I would’ve had to go through and inspection to prove it wasn’t yellow, had lights removed etc etc. Only trouble I had was getting insurance and finding someone willing to work on it. Too big to fit in small shops and too heavy to lift for most.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Absolutely BS. My county's school system took kids to the next city on field trips all the time using interstates. My mother drove a school bus as well, and she was sent to Dulles airport to drop off and pick up a senior Honors English class who took a trip to Great Britain. US secondary highways and one section of I-66.

[Sehnsucht]

I've read through all the replies and it's pretty clear that the initial information the OP received was both ill-informed and inaccurate. There are a few points that are consistent and I think worth outlining because I like bullet point lists:

1. Minimum safety standards for school bus construction are established by the federal government for all bus manufacturers to conform to a uniform standard but that does not mean that states cannot adopt a more stringent standard. This is why some states' buses are more highly sought than others for skoolie conversions.

2. Along with #1, the requirements and restrictions for operating official student transportation are established by the individual states and can also get more granular within counties and municipalities if they have or see a need for specific codified regulations. One of these is the legitimacy of National School Bus Yellow buses only being sanctioned for home-to-school transport which is why some schools own non-yellow buses for field trips, away game team buses, etc or may charter buses for these purposes because their drivers aren't licensed for these longer trips (Interstate versus Intrastate CDL).

3. Along the topic of licensing, a retired school bus repurposed and re-titled is yet another issue that is very state-specific. This included how much must be done to 'de-school-bus-ify' it for private use and what it will be called as a private owner vehicle, and how much is required if the desired classification is to be an RV. These are all decided by the state, not the federal government.

4. Because this hobby/lifestyle/obsession/mental condition called skoolies is a bit of an outlier it often doesn't neatly fit into predefined categories at the state agency responsible for such licensing. It is therefore important not to take the first opinion you receive as 'the law' because it could be a matter of one licensing agent's interpretation of the regulation over another. It is also important to remember that many civil workers are notoriously lazy and its easier for them to just say no than to actually do their job. They make up some bogus restriction which then gets parroted by the uninformed, leading to this whole mess illustrated by the OP!

[PNW_Steve]

Originally Posted by Sehnsucht

I've read through all the replies and it's pretty clear that the initial information the OP received was both ill-informed and inaccurate. There are a few points that are consistent and I think worth outlining because I like bullet point lists:

1. Minimum safety standards for school bus construction are established by the federal government for all bus manufacturers to conform to a uniform standard but that does not mean that states cannot adopt a more stringent standard. This is why some states' buses are more highly sought than others for skoolie conversions.

2. Along with #1, the requirements and restrictions for operating official student transportation are established by the individual states and can also get more granular within counties and municipalities if they have or see a need for specific codified regulations. One of these is the legitimacy of National School Bus Yellow buses only being sanctioned for home-to-school transport which is why some schools own non-yellow buses for field trips, away game team buses, etc or may charter buses for these purposes because their drivers aren't licensed for these longer trips (Interstate versus Intrastate CDL).

3. Along the topic of licensing, a retired school bus repurposed and re-titled is yet another issue that is very state-specific. This included how much must be done to 'de-school-bus-ify' it for private use and what it will be called as a private owner vehicle, and how much is required if the desired classification is to be an RV. These are all decided by the state, not the federal government.

4. Because this hobby/lifestyle/obsession/mental condition called skoolies is a bit of an outlier it often doesn't neatly fit into predefined categories at the state agency responsible for such licensing. It is therefore important not to take the first opinion you receive as 'the law' because it could be a matter of one licensing agent's interpretation of the regulation over another. It is also important to remember that many civil workers are notoriously lazy and its easier for them to just say no than to actually do their job. They make up some bogus restriction which then gets parroted by the uninformed, leading to this whole mess illustrated by the OP!

Very well said.

[Mark_In_MA]

You're on Long Island, right?

He probably found out the hard way that he can't take the bus on the PARKWAYS once it's a motor home. I bet there's a state exemption that says school buses transporting pupils can go on the parkways, while otherwise they'd be banned with the trucks and commercial vehicles. And every darn road on Long Island seems to be a parkway.

Either way, he's full of it about there being a federal law. Not worth it to argue with him about spreading bad information.

[Bongo Moondog]

I found this old page on the Christian Science Monitor that talks about this sort of thing. According to that page from 1988 says:

"Officials at the US Department of Transportation have been quoted as saying that they lack the authority to regulate school buses used for nonschool activities. But the American Bus Association claims that the department has the authority but is unwilling to use it."

Seems like it would state jurisdiction if such regulation existed at all.

Here is a link if you want to check out the whole story there.
https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/0517/abus.html

[CarJunki]

When I took my road test to get my CDL to drive for a school system here in NY, part of the test was to get on the highway and say how high the bus was and how heavy it was. That was part of the exam to get your license. This was a while ago, but I doubt it has changed. I've lived in NY 99% of my life and have seen buses on every road.

[Sehnsucht]

Iwill NOT purport to speak from a position of authority with regards to NY or any other state requirements or restrictions but as a point of general regard a school bus is usually permitted to traverse any public road simply as a matter of purpose to collect and return school children from their homes or other designated collection point. If NY has particular roads designated as parkways which otherwise prohibit commercial vehicles or larger private vehicles such as RVs yet for the purpose of collecting children a school bus must traverse these roads then its likely that local exemption supercedes state guidelines within the jurisdiction of the locality although once outside that jurisdiction the bus may find itself in violation. For our purposes however, as soon as the bus has been de-school-bus-ified then its going to far easier for law enforcement to challenge the vehicle's right to an otherwise restriction parkway because although the shape of a achool bus it is clearly no longer a valid student transport vehicle. From this standpoint then its much safer to avoid these routes as much as possible unless given valid authority (in writing would be good) or can demonstrate a compelling interest or lack of alternative route to your destination.

As far as the highway matter which was the original issue, the federal government has no specific restriction of school buses and even states which rely on federal funding for the interstate highway system within their borders have limitations on what they can restrict or govern because the interstate system is intended to provide a reasonably uniform course of transportation and commerce. Once off the interstate highway on a state highway then such rules can change drastically. I've seen this especially in the New England states because while the interstate highway may be suitable for large trucks that is not the case as soon as you reach the bottom of the exit ramp. Weights and clearances almost always factor into a trucker's route plan in the NE. These could even catch a skoolie off guard of not diligent about spotting signs that advise of these hazards.

[MrBoogie]

Originally Posted by Dèsirée

Hello there!
A few days ago I met a man who without even knowing about the school bus conversion trend and the skoolie community, bought a local school bus and built it out for his motor cross team.

After four months of construction, he went to register the bus as an RV and was told, only school buses assigned to transport school teams, are allowed on the highway.

According to DMV, regular school buses regardless the size or body style, are not allowed on any highway.

Furthermore, someone else told me, it’s not a local, county or even a state regulation, it’s Federal Law.

Is that true? I was extremely surprised when I heard that little bit of information and needless to say, he was too!

Although he was able to register the bus, it can only be used locally, and not as intended.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Dèsirée

Sorry don't know where these people are getting their information from but had no issue registering my bus & it is allowed on Florida Highways. The registrations was extremely due to fact I bought it in Alabama. All kinds of businesses use school buses so tell your DMV idiot to re-check their regulations. I doubt any state has outlawed & no Federal rules apply.You are just not registering it as a DOT vehicle moving passengers.. The day the Feds put that law into effect there will be a sea of school buses on the Washington Mall in protest.

[MrBoogie]

Originally Posted by Dèsirée

Hello there!
A few days ago I met a man who without even knowing about the school bus conversion trend and the skoolie community, bought a local school bus and built it out for his motor cross team.

After four months of construction, he went to register the bus as an RV and was told, only school buses assigned to transport school teams, are allowed on the highway.

According to DMV, regular school buses regardless the size or body style, are not allowed on any highway.

Furthermore, someone else told me, it’s not a local, county or even a state regulation, it’s Federal Law.

Is that true? I was extremely surprised when I heard that little bit of information and needless to say, he was too!

Although he was able to register the bus, it can only be used locally, and not as intended.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Dèsirée

Sorry don't know where these people are getting their information from but had no issue registering my bus & it is allowed on Florida Highways. The registrations was extremely expensive due to fact I bought it in Alabama & converted it to a Florida Tag. All kinds of businesses use school buses so tell your DMV idiot to re-check their regulations, some are lazy & not about to spend the time fo find the regs on this. I doubt any state has outlawed & no Federal rules apply. Now if you tell them it's a passenger bus with a DOT number that might cause an issue. The day the Feds put that law into effect there will be a sea of school buses on the Washington Mall in protest.

PS Just saw you are in Rohde Island, that's a complete other issue, I work in the Logistics software field I have seen different areas of NY block a Plumber Pickup with a commercial sign on it driving on residential streets. I'm sure that's why most of you guys move to Florida eventually. Good luck in that over governed part of the country, California is another place with useless crazy laws.

[o1marc]

Originally Posted by MrBoogie

Sorry don't know where these people are getting their information from but had no issue registering my bus & it is allowed on Florida Highways. The registrations was extremely due to fact I bought it in Alabama. All kinds of businesses use school buses so tell your DMV idiot to re-check their regulations. I doubt any state has outlawed & no Federal rules apply.You are just not registering it as a DOT vehicle moving passengers.. The day the Feds put that law into effect there will be a sea of school buses on the Washington Mall in protest.

Why you picking on the girl? She didn't deal with DMV . SOME STRANGER ON THE STREET RAN A LINE OF BS PAST HER. We all know it's not true, why are we still discussing it. And on top of that, the issue was in NY, who cares what the laws are in Fla.

[peteg59]

This thread should be considered "dead", as there are no such Federal laws against driving a converted school bus on any highway in the country. And there have been responses from NY'ers who've not had issues driving either.
End of thread...

[HazMatt]

"Thread's dead, Zed"
(Misquote paraphrase from what movie, by which actor from 'Jersey?)

[sunsetbass]

Originally Posted by Dèsirée

Hello there!
A few days ago I met a man who without even knowing about the school bus conversion trend and the skoolie community, bought a local school bus and built it out for his motor cross team.

After four months of construction, he went to register the bus as an RV and was told, only school buses assigned to transport school teams, are allowed on the highway.

According to DMV, regular school buses regardless the size or body style, are not allowed on any highway.

Furthermore, someone else told me, it’s not a local, county or even a state regulation, it’s Federal Law.

Is that true? I was extremely surprised when I heard that little bit of information and needless to say, he was too!

Although he was able to register the bus, it can only be used locally, and not as intended.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Dèsirée

I have Driven School bus for years. i hold a Pennsylvania CDL Class B License. I know that when on a "School district" run I had to have my school bus signs visible, Which meant i was running under Pa law but when i wasn't on that type of run i had to have my signs either flipped up or covered. which meant i was running under the rules of the Public Utility Commission (Federal Gov't). Point is either way i ran that bus was able to run on any highway or road it would fit basically. so in my honest opinion this guy was full of poop. All you would have to do is call your states DMV and ask them. get it strait from the horses mouth.

[HazMatt]

Wowsers! 4 and a quarter years to make your first posting? We may have a new winner! [emoji6]

Originally Posted by sunsetbass

... so in my honest opinion this guy was full of poop...

Careful with that harsh language- this is a family-friendly site...

[JustKip]

We need even MORE people to chime in and say that the guy was wrong! You know, in case somebody missed something important in the first 5 pages.

I hate people.

[HazMatt]

The felines are mutual.

[CaptSquid]

I bought Brunhilde in Kankakee, IL and, for the most part, it was interstate highways all the way back to Montana. I got the feel of her while driving to I-80 through the back roads of IL. Once I got on the interstates, it was duck soup.

She's still SBY and I still have the lights and stop sign and kiddie bar. I'd love to have the kiddie bar pneumatically actuated so I could smack some people.

[sunsetbass]

Originally Posted by HazMatt

Wowsers! 4 and a quarter years to make your first posting? We may have a new winner! [emoji6]


Careful with that harsh language- this is a family-friendly site...

oooooops. sorry. my bad