 
NYS DOT FAQ
All vehicles subject to
inspection by the New York State Department of
Transportation are required to be inspected at least every
six months. The operator is responsible for providing an
adequate inspection facility, as the NYSDOT does not operate
facilities for the inspection of vehicles.
Vehicles subject to NYSDOT inspection
include the following:
- Vehicles transporting passengers
under the age of 21 years, to and from schools, for
hire, or owned and/or operated by school districts or
any public or private school. Also included are vehicles
used to transport passengers under the age of 21 years
between school programs and community residences.
- Vehicles operated in New York State,
pursuant to or requiring a certificate or permit for the
transportation of passengers, the U.S. Department of
Transportation (USDOT) or the Commissioner of NYSDOT.
- All buses operated pursuant to or
requiring regulatory authority from any city that has
adopted an ordinance, local law or charter to regulate a
franchise bus line operation pursuant to the New York
State Transportation Law.
- Double-decker sightseeing buses
regulated by the New York City Office of Community
Affairs.
Definitions
School - means every place of academic,
vocational or religious services or instruction of persons
under the age of 21 years, except places of higher
education. It shall include every childcare center, every
institution for the care or training of the mentally or
physically handicapped (certain exceptions apply) and every
day camp.
School Service - means the transportation
of persons under the age of 21 years to and/or from school
or school activities, with or without adult supervisory
personnel, either:
- In vehicles owned and/or operated by
school districts or any public or private school or
school district; or
- By others for hire except for parents
who enter into a contract with a school to provide
transportation exclusively for their own children.
Operator - means the person, firm or
corporation who has control or directs the operation of the
motor vehicle, leases or otherwise.
Inspection Procedures and Criteria for
limousine and bus
Vehicles are inspected at an operator
provided facility every six months. NYSDOT Motor Vehicle
Inspectors (MVIs) contact the vehicle operator in advance of
the inspection certificate expiration, to arrange for a date
for the next inspection of the vehicle. Usually, the MVI
will go to the operator's facility and conduct the
inspection of the vehicles that were previously scheduled
for inspection with the operator. Normally an inspection
will take approximately 60-90 minutes to complete, depending
on the size/type of vehicle. Initial inspections of new
vehicles take somewhat longer do to being a new in service,
In addition to the actual vehicle inspection, required
maintenance records, preventive maintenance program and
driver inspection reports are also checked.
Inspections are conducted based on the requirements
contained in Sections 720 and 721 of the NYS Transportation
Regulations. Contained in these regulations are the
passenger vehicle Out of Service (OOS) Criteria. Discovered
defects that meet the OOS criteria, will result in the
following actions depending on the class of defect
discovered:
- "A" rated defect - vehicle is placed
Out of Service, no inspection certificate is issued
until the defect(s) is repaired and a re inspection is
conducted;
- "B" rated defect - vehicle is issued
an inspection certificate but defect must be corrected
prior to carrying passengers;
- "C" rated defect - vehicle is issued
an inspection certificate but defect must be corrected
within 15 days from the date of the original inspection.
What if the Vehicle Fails Inspection?
Vehicles placed out of service as a result
of the discovery of a serious ("A" rated) safety defect, are
not issued an inspection certificate and may not carry
passengers. An out-of-service decal is affixed to the
vehicle, which permits the vehicle to be operated on the
highway for the purpose of getting repairs, for a period of
15 days.
If the out-of-service defect can be
repaired and the MVI has available time before leaving the
operator's inspection facility, the OOS vehicle can be re
inspected the same day. If the OOS defect(s) is properly
repaired, a valid inspection certificate is issued. If
repairs are not completed before the MVI leaves the
facility, the operator must arrange with the MVI for a date
for re inspection of the vehicle.
Vehicles that have accumulated in excess
of 100 miles or 15 days or more have passed since the
vehicle was placed out of service, will require a complete
inspection of the vehicle rather than just a re inspection
of the OOS items discovered at the original inspection.
Bus Performance
NYSDOT performs semi-annual vehicle safety
inspections on a wide variety of vehicles that are subject
to inspections by the NYSDOT. Of approximately 145,000
inspections conducted each year, almost 60% are performed on
vehicles used in school transportation service, and either
directly by a public or private school or by a contractor
hired to provide that service. The remaining inspections are
performed on vehicles used in other services regulated by
NYSDOT 40% limousine and motor coach charter service,
transit, ambulette (transit disabled) and "for hire"
passenger service.
The following documents are an alphabetic
listing of all passenger vehicle operators that have one or
more vehicles inspected under NYSDOT's semi-annual vehicle
safety inspection program. The columns (left to right) are:
- Operator (Operator name)
- Insp 02-03 / 03-04 (number of regular
inspections performed between April 1, 2002 - March 31,
2003 or April 1, 2003 - March 31, 2004)
- OOS 02-03 / 03-04 (number of failed
regular inspections)
- OOS Rate 02-03 / 03-04 (Out of
Service rate for Operator during given period)
- OpID (BUSNET Operator identification
number)
- City (City where the Operator is
located)
- Region (NYSDOT Region of assignment
of the inspector(s) who perform inspections on the
operator's vehicles).
This listing is intended to assist you in
identifying Operators of interest, and provide the
information you need to compare the inspection record of
your local Operator with other similar sized Operators in
your area or elsewhere in New York State. For the last
fiscal years the average Out of Service (OOS) rate, for all
Operators that have one or more vehicles inspected by NYSDOT
was 11.9%. The out of service rate by fiscal year is as
follows: 11.5% for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2002-2003 and
12.4% for SFY 2003-2004.
The Passenger Carrier Safety Bureau is
committed to ensuring all school buses and authorized
passenger vehicles in New York State operate at the highest
safety standards in the country. Our Bus Inspectors perform
more than 140,000 comprehensive bus safety inspections and
re-inspections annually. To accomplish this, the Bureau uses
over 120 motor vehicle inspectors assigned to one of 11
regional safety inspection teams across the state. A total
of nearly 60,000 buses, vans and ambulettes are subject to
the NYSDOT safety inspection review every six months and
over 400 safety related factors are reviewed during each
inspection.
Safety Tip - Driver's Vehicle
Inspection
Vehicle inspection, repair, and
maintenance standards are critical to the safe operation of
commercial motor vehicles. They are designed to reduce
accidents, injuries, and fatalities resulting from unsafe
vehicles operating on the highways.
Pre-Trip Inspection
The first thing a driver should do when
beginning a tour of duty is to review the diver's vehicle
inspection (DVIR) report from the previous dispatch. If
there were defects noted, you should verify that the DVIR
has been signed by a mechanic certifying that either the
defect was repaired, scheduled for repair or the defect was
determined not to affect the safety of the vehicle and
repair was unnecessary. If the previous day's DVIR did
contain a defect, you must sign the report to indicate that
you have reviewed it and that the required certification and
signature are present.
Note: A driver is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle
if the company fails to make this certification.
Vehicle Inspection as stated in Service
brakes for limousines And BUS
- Parking brake
- Steering mechanism
- Lighting devices and reflectors
- Tires
- Horn
- Windshield wipers
- Mirrors
- Wheels and Rims
- Air condition
- Heating
- Emergency Equipment and exits
The post-trip inspection report shall note
any additional mechanical or safety defects not listed on
the pre-trip inspection report that the driver becomes aware
of prior to the end of the tour of duty.
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