Colorado § 42-4-1901 - School buses - equipped with supplementary brake retarders - mountainous terrain - definition.

§ 42-4-1901. School buses - equipped with supplementary brake retarders - mountainous terrain - definition.

(1) (a) On and after July 1, 1991, except as provided in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section, passengers of any school bus being used on mountainous terrain by any school district of the state shall not occupy the front row of seats and any seats located next to the emergency doors of such school bus during the period of such use.

(b) For purposes of this section, mountainous terrain shall include, but shall not be limited to, any road or street which the department of transportation has designated as being located on mountainous terrain.

(2) (a) The provisions of paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to:

(I) Passengers of any school bus which is equipped with retarders of appropriate capacity for purposes of supplementing any service brake systems of such school bus; or

(II) Any passenger who is adequately restrained in a fixed position pursuant to federal and state standards.

(b) The general assembly encourages school districts to consider installing state-of-the-art retarders for purposes of supplementing service brake systems of school buses when such retarders are acquired on or after April 17, 1991. The general assembly also encourages school districts to consider purchasing only those new school buses that are equipped with external public address systems and retarders of appropriate capacity for purposes of supplementing any service brake systems of such school buses.

(3) For purposes of this section and section 42-4-1902:

(a) "Mountainous terrain" means that condition where longitudinal and transverse changes in the elevation of the ground with respect to a road or street are abrupt and where benching and sidehill excavation are frequently required to obtain acceptable horizontal and vertical alignment.

(b) Repealed.

Source: L. 94: Entire title amended with relocations, p. 2435, § 1, effective January 1, 1995. L. 95: (1)(b) amended, p. 960, § 19, effective May 25. L. 2010: (3)(b) repealed, (HB 10-1232), ch. 163, p. 573, § 14, effective April 28. L. 2025: (2)(b) amended, (HB 25-1320), ch. 236, p. 1176, § 27, effective May 23.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 42-4-238 as it existed prior to 1994.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 25-1320, see section 1 of chapter 236, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.