Passenger Van Safety Act of 2003
Key claim: This Senate bill would require the Transportation Department to rollover-test 15-passenger vans, evaluate anti-rollover technologies, apply commercial motor-carrier rules to those vans, and ban using ordinary 9-to-15-passenger vans to haul schoolchildren unless they meet school-bus safety standards.
Abstract
(S717 · 108th Congress) Passenger Van Safety Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) develop a dynamic test on rollovers by 15-passenger vans for the purposes of a consumer information program, and carry out a program of conducting such tests; and (2) require the testing of 15-passenger vans at various load condition levels as part of the rollover resistance program of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s New Car Assessment Program. Directs the Secretary to test and evaluate various technological systems (including electronic stability control systems, rear-view mirror-based rollover warning systems, traction systems, lane departure systems, and antilock brakes) to determine their effectiveness in assisting drivers of 15-passenger vans to control them under conditions that cause vehicle rollover. Requires the Secretary to issue a final rule initiated pursuant to a specified proposed rulemaking on the application of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations to the commercial operation of 15-passenger vans. Amends the Federal transportation code to prohibit any person from purchasing, renting, or leasing any motor vehicle designed or used to transport nine to 15 passengers that the person knows or reasonably should know will be used significantly to transport preprimary, primary, and secondary school students to or from school or an event related to school, unless the motor vehicle complies with the certain motor vehicle standards prescribed for schoolbuses. Establishes a civil penalty for violation of this prohibition, or for manufacture, sale, offer for sale, introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce, or importation, of a schoolbus or related equipment that fails to meet such standards. Latest action (2003-03-26): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Why this matters
15-passenger vans have long been flagged by NHTSA for elevated rollover risk, particularly when fully loaded and when used to transport schoolchildren outside the federal school-bus standards. This 2003 bill is an early legislative attempt to close that gap by combining rollover testing, technology evaluation, and a school-transport ban, though it did not advance past committee.