NHTSA Announces Recall of 11,500 School Buses

08/23/96

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced the recall of 11,500 school buses. NHTSA director Ricardo Martinez said his agency recalled the buses because they do not meet federal fuel system integrity standards. During Crash tests, a 1995 Blue Bird All American and a 1995 Wayne County Lifestar exceeded the maximum federal allowance for fuel leakage. An NHTSA official said Wayne has gone out of business and that Harsco has agreed to take responsibility for the recall of the Wayne buses

The NHTSA says that no crashes involving fuel system fires have been reported, so school systems should continue to use the buses until the companies develop modifications to fix the problem. Once the modifications are developed, the companies will repair them at no cost to the owners.

Martinez said that the risk of fatal injuries to children in school buses is four times less than it is to children in passenger cars. He said the school bus is one of the safest forms of ground transportation.

Click here to read the full text of NHTSA's announcement regarding the recall from TACH's news archive.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel