Motor Traffic Amendment (bus Safety) Regulation 1997
1997 No 368
New South Wales
Motor Traffic Amendment (Bus
Safety) Regulation 1997
under the
Traffic Act 1909
His Excellency the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, has
made the following Regulation under the Traffic Act 1909.
Bob Debus
Acting Minister for Roads
Explanatory note
The objects of this Regulation are:
to extend the requirements relating to warning signs and lights in
(a) relation to buses used to transport school children to include buses
used to transport the children during certain hours, and
to make it an offence for the owner of certain buses to permit a person
(b) to drive a bus, or for a person to drive a bus, unless the bus is fitted
with:
(i)
a mirror system designed to improve the driver’s field of view
of passenger doors,
(ii)
padding to certain interior hard surfaces of the bus, and
(iii) a door system designed to prevent door entrapment, and
to make specific provision to limit the maximum door closing force of
(c)
existing registered buses to reduce the possibility of passenger
entrapment by a door.
This Regulation is made under the Traffic Act 1909, including sections 3 (1)
(a), (c) and (i), (2) (c) and (d) and (7).
Published in Gazette No 86 of 1 August 1997, page 5932
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1997 No 368
Clause 1
Motor Traffic Amendment (Bus Safety) Regulation 1997
Motor Traffic Amendment (Bus Safety)
Regulation 1997
1 Name of Regulation
This Regulation is the Motor Traffic Amendment (Bus Safety)
Regulation 1997.
2 Commencement
This Regulation commences on 1 August 1997.
3 Amendment of Motor Traffic Regulations 1935
The Motor Traffic Regulations 1935 are amended as set out in
Schedule 1.
4 Notes
The explanatory note does not form part of this Regulation.
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1997 No 368
Motor Traffic Amendment (Bus Safety) Regulation 1997
Amendment of Motor Traffic Regulations 1935
Schedule 1
Schedule 1
Amendment of Motor Traffic
Regulations 1935
(Clause 3)
[1] Regulation 136A Warning signs and lights for
school buses
Insert “from time to time” after “Authority” in the definition of
warning system in Regulation 136A (1).
[2]
Regulation 136A (9), (10)
Omit Regulation 136A (9). Insert instead:
(9)
In this Regulation, a reference to the driving of a bus for
school purposes is a reference to the driving of a bus:
(a)
that is being used to convey children (whether
with or without adult passengers) to or from
school:
(i)
between 7.00 am and 9.30 am on a
weekday, or
(ii)
between 2.30 pm and 5.00 pm on a
weekday, or
(b)
that is used solely for the purpose of conveying
children to or from school.
[3]
Regulations 136B, 136C
Insert after Regulation 136A:
136B Safety provisions for buses first registered on or after 1
August 1997
(1)
This Regulation applies to any bus accredited to operate
regular passenger services within the meaning of the
Passenger Transport Act 1990 and first registered on or
after l August 1997.
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1997 No 368
Motor Traffic Amendment (Bus Safety) Regulation 1997
Schedule 1
Amendment of Motor Traffic Regulations 1935
(2)
In this Regulation:
bus door safety system means a bus door system
installed on a bus that:
(a)
is designed to prevent, without driver intervention,
entrapment of persons by the closing of the doors,
and
(b)
complies with the requirements of the technical
specification approved by the Authority for the
purposes of this Regulation.
safety padding means padding that:
(a) is affixed to handrails, the top and back of seats,
and partitions on buses, including raised items that
are part of, or are affixed to, seats and partitions,
and
(b)
complies with the requirements of the technical
specification approved by the Authority for the
purposes of this Regulation.
field of view system means a system installed on a bus
that:
(a)
provides the driver of the bus with an adequate
view of the doorways of the bus, and
(b)
complies with the requirements of the technical
specification approved by the Authority for the
purposes of this Regulation.
(3)
The owner of a bus must not permit any person to drive a
bus on a public street unless the bus is fitted with:
(a)
a bus door safety system, and
(b)
safety padding, and
(c)
a field of view system.
A person must not drive a bus on a public street unless
(4)
the bus is fitted with:
(a)
a bus door safety system, and
(b)
safety padding, and
(c)
a field of view system.
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1997 No 368
Motor Traffic Amendment (Bus Safety) Regulation 1997
Amendment of Motor Traffic Regulations 1935 Schedule 1
(5)
A requirement of clause (2) or (3) does not apply:
(a)
to the owner of a bus whom the Authority exempts
in writing from compliance with the requirement,
and
(b)
to the driver of a bus, the owner of which has been
exempted under paragraph (a).
(6)
The Authority is to make any approved technical
specification approved for the purposes of this
Regulation available on request.
136C Door requirements for buses registered before 1 August
(1)
This Regulation applies. to buses fitted with driver
controlled doors and first registered before 1 August
1997.
The owner of a bus must not permit a person to drive a
(2)
bus to which this Regulation applies on a public street on
or after 1 August 1998 unless the steady force applied to
any object located up to 1500 millimetres above the door
step when the door of the bus is closing does not exceed
150 newtons when measured between 20 millimetres and
300 millimetres from the door’s fully closed position.
A person must not drive a bus to which this Regulation
(3)
applies on a public street on or after 1 August 1998
unless the steady force applied to any object located up
to 1500 millimetres above the door step when the door of
the bus is closing does not exceed 150 newtons when
measured between 20 millimetres and 300 millimetres
from the door’s fully closed position.
Despite clauses (2) and (3), the steady force applied to
(4)
any object located up to 1500 millimetres above the door
step when the door of the bus is closing may, if a steady
force of 150 newtons results in the door not working
properly, be increased to a steady force that enables the
door to work properly. However, it must not, in any case,
be increased to more than 400 newtons.
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