Appendix E Ontario Guidelines for Bus, Accessible Vehicle and School Purposes Vehicles.
| National Standard NSC 11B January 2006 | Ontario’s Guidelines | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction | The bus section of the National Standard applies to buses, school-purposes vehicles and accessible vehicles, as defined in Regulation 611.Operators, of accessible vehicles should review and be aware of the additional manufacturer and on-road requirements under Regulation 629, Accessible Vehicles, under the Highway Traffic Act. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Section 3 Item 1 |
Parking Brake | National Safety Code standard requires the parking brake to be inspected by applying the parking brake with the engine running at approximately 800 rpm. The ministry recommends that this test be performed at idle, and not 800 rpm. In some cases, motor vehicles equipped with automatic transmissions are programmed so that the parking brake is automatically disengaged when the transmission is placed in a forward or reverse gear. In such cases, it is not possible or required to check the parking-brake performance by this method. |
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| Section 3A Item 16f |
Mechanical Components (slack adjusters) | Clarification: A push-rod travel indicator has been a manufacturer’s requirement since April 30, 1995, in Ontario (Regulation 587), and a federal requirement for Canada (Technical Standards Document Number 121) since May 31, 1996. Therefore, air-brake vehicles manufactured after May 31, 1996, that are equipped with external adjustment mechanisms and an exposed push rod must be equipped with an indicator that indicates when the push-rod travel exceeds the prescribed adjustment limit. Most-air brake chambers with exposed push rods are manufactured with markings directly on the base of the push rod so that the markings are exposed when an over stroke condition exists – this complies with the manufacturing standards. Some vehicles have brake-stroke indicators that are more visible, to assist drivers in determining the pushrod stroke of a brake. These devices are optional, and can replace or supplement the indicators required at time of vehicle manufacture. |
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| Section 4 Item 1 |
Steering Wheel Test | MTO recommends that mechanics be aware and advise clients, when appropriate, that the on-road standard under Regulation 611 is more stringent than the National Standard in the amount of allowable steering lash. For your reference: Regulation 611, on-road standard:
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| Section 5 Item 1 |
Fire Extinguisher | National Standard has requirements and rating for a fire extinguisher as required per jurisdiction (provinces and territories).Additional requirements for Ontario are: Accessible Vehicles – as per Regulation 629, all accessible vehicles are to be equipped with:
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| Section 5 Item 2 |
Hazard Warning Kit | National Safety Code standard has requirements for hazard warning kit as per jurisdiction (provinces and territories). The requirement to carry a hazard warning kit is under section 170 of the HTA, including a sufficient number of, flares, lamps or lanterns, capable of continually producing two warning lights, each visible from a distance of at least 150 metres, for a period of at least eight hours; or portable reflectors that have been approved by the ministry. Ontario’s requirements are outlined in HTA Section 170 at the following link: Ontario requirements are:School Buses – as per Canadian Standards Association D250, all school buses shall carry at least three triangular reflex reflectors that are in accordance with SAE J774. |
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| Section 5 Item 11 |
Paint School Bus Only |
Paint should be as per CSA D250 Standard:
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| Section 5 Item 12 |
Sign | National Safety Code standard lists five specific signs required for school buses, as per jurisdiction (provinces and territories). Ontario requirements differ in the following cases: b) Should be - "DO NOT PASS WHEN SIGNALS FLASHING” d) Not required |
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| Section 5 Item 14 |
Pedestrian Gate | National Safety Code standard requirements for pedestrian gates for school buses are required, as per jurisdiction (provinces and territories). Ontario requires all school buses to be equipped with a pedestrian student- safety crossing arm, as per Regulation 612 and CSA D250 standard. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Section 6 Item 1 |
Lamps | National Safety Code standard has requirements for lamps. Refer to the link below for further clarification on Canadian federal requirements for trucks, trailers and buses that apply to Ontario vehicles.Canadian federal lighting equipment location requirements are on the Transport Canada website: www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/tp-tp14116-menu-175.htm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Section 6 Item 3 |
Reflective tape School Bus Only |
Ontario school buses manufactured on or after June 1, 2000, require reflective tape, as per CSA D250 standard. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Section 6 Item 5 |
Alternating Flashing Lamps School Bus Only |
Section covering alternating flashing lamps for school buses has rejection criteria if the lights are not red or amber, as per jurisdictional requirements (provinces and territories). Ontario requires alternating flashing lights to be red only. |
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| Section 7 Item 4 |
Alternator | Ontario recommends the use of a volt meter when inspecting an alternator on a school bus. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Section 8 Item 6 |
Front Bumper | National Safety Code standard requires a front bumper to conform to OEM standards. This should be interpreted as a minimum requirement; therefore, any bumper that would be equivalent or greater in performance to the original OEM bumper would be acceptable (for example, adding a bicycle rack). |
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| Section 8 Item 24 |
Rub Rails | National Safety Code standard requires a visual inspection of the rub rails on a school bus, including (if they are missing or not) complying with CSA D250 standards. For clarification when inspecting rub rails on a school bus, if it appears rub rails are missing, removed or modified, refer to CSA D250 for the requirements based on size and manufactured date of the school bus. |
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