The council hereby finds that a serious emergency exists as to the safety of handicapped children transported to and from schools in school buses and other vehicles. Handicapped school children have been grievously injured, maimed and killed due to lack of seat belts and guards or escorts on school buses. The council finds that in order to prevent further tragedies to our handicapped school children the provisions of this section are declared necessary and are designed to protect, the safety, health and general welfare of our school children.
All buses or other motor vehicles engaged in the business of transporting handicapped children to and from schools in the city shall be equipped with seat belts for each seat on such a bus, or other safety appliances prescribed by the national bureau of standards or other authorized governmental agencies promulgating rules relating to auto safety.
a. All buses and other motor vehicles transporting handicapped children to and from school in the city shall be staffed, in addition to the driver thereof, with an escort. It shall be the duty and responsibility of such escort to generally supervise and aid the handicapped children riding such bus; to require each child to utilize a seat belt or other safety device and to escort the children on and off each bus to an area of safety.
b. The driver of a bus transporting children to and from school in the city shall not proceed after having halted such bus to take on or discharge a passenger until he or she has received assurance from the escort that the children are seated, have fastened the safety belt on the seat and that it is otherwise safe to proceed.
Editor's note: this section has been amended by L.L. 2023/079, 6/25/2023, eff. 9/1/2035.
a. Any bus or other motor vehicle transporting a child with a disability to and from a school in the city pursuant to any agreement or contract shall be air-conditioned when the ambient outside temperature exceeds seventy degrees Fahrenheit. Drivers of all such vehicles shall utilize such air conditioning systems in order to make the internal climate of such vehicles comfortable to passengers in order to protect or enhance the health of children with disabilities. Any failure, mechanical or otherwise, of an air-conditioning system required by this section shall be repaired and restored to operable condition as soon as is practicable, but in no event more than three business days subsequent to the failure. For purposes of this section, "child with a disability" shall mean a child with a disability as defined in section 4401(1) of the education law who requires an air-conditioned environment for health reasons.
b. The penalty provisions set forth in section 19-607 of this chapter shall not apply to any violation of the provisions of this section. Any owner, operator or contractor responsible for transporting a child with a disability to and from a school in the city pursuant to any agreement or contract shall be liable for a civil penalty of four hundred dollars for each violation of this section.
Loading...