tim's journal

Car seats on buses, shuttles, etc.

I wrote previously on car seat laws in California. This time I'm trying to find out what the laws are concerning car seats in shuttles, like Super Shuttle, and buses when the vehicles will be operated on freeways, e.g., to SFO. The car seat laws I posted refer me to Section 27315 which unfortunately is still unclear. Well, unclear assuming that buses and shuttles are somehow exempt. It states:

As used in this section, "motor vehicle" means any passenger vehicle or any motortruck or truck tractor, but does not include a motorcycle.

Also,

A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a highway unless that person and all passengers 16 years of age or over are properly restrained by a safety belt. This paragraph does not apply to the operator of a taxicab, as defined in Section 27908, when the taxicab is driven on a city street and is engaged in the transportation of a fare-paying passenger. The safety belt requirement established by this paragraph is the minimum safety standard applicable to employees being transported in a motor vehicle. This paragraph does not preempt any more stringent or restrictive standards imposed by the Labor Code or any other state or federal regulation regarding the transportation of employees in a motor vehicle.

Super Shuttle may well count as a taxicab. In Section 27908, a taxicab is defined as

...a passenger vehicle designed for carrying not more than eight persons, excluding the driver, and used to carry passengers for hire. "Taxicab" shall not include a charter-party carrier of passengers within the meaning of the Passenger Charter-party Carriers' Act, Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 5351) of Division 2 of the Public Utilities Code.

Sounds like Super Shuttle to me. Interestingly, this means you don't need car seats in taxicabs, or even seat belts!

Posted by torque at November 1, 2004 8:44 PM | TrackBack