The Public Service Vehicles (Conditions of Fitness, Equipment, Use and Certification) Regulations 1981

Number, position and size of entrances and exits

21.—(1) For the purposes of this Regulation and Regulations 13, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26—

(a) “primary emergency exit” means an emergency exit being an exit provided in a single-decked vehicle or in the lower deck of a double-decked vehicle which, subject to paragraph 8 of Schedule 2—

(i) is situated so that passengers can step directly from the passage referred to in Regulation 26(1)(g) to the outside of the vehicle,

(ii) has a clear height—

(A) in the case of a vehicle which has a seating capacity not exceeding 14 passengers, of not less than 1.21 metres, and

(B) in the case of any other vehicle, of not less than 1.37 metres,

(iii) has a width of not less than 530 millimetres;

(b) “secondary emergency exit” means an emergency exit of which the dimensions are not less than 910 millimetres by 530 millimetres and which does not satisfy all the requirements of a primary emergency exit and which is not in the roof of a vehicle;

(c) neither of the foregoing definitions shall apply in relation to an emergency exit as required by paragraphs (7) and (8) but the exit so required shall be of dimensions not less than 1.52 metres by 455 millimetres;

(d) references to the seating capacity of a vehicle shall, in the case of a double-decked vehicle, be treated as references to the seating capacity of its lower deck;

(e) references to the distance between the centres or between the nearest points of the openings of two exits in a vehicle are references to the distance between lines drawn at right-angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and passing respectively through the centres or, as the case may be, the nearest points of the openings of the exits at gangway level; and

(f) the reference to the distance between the centre of an exit placed at the front end of a vehicle and the foremost part of the vehicle is a reference to the distance between lines drawn at right-angles to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and passing through the centre of that exit and the said foremost part and the reference to the distance between the centre of an exit placed at the rear end of a vehicle and the rearmost part of the vehicle is a reference to the distance between lines drawn as aforesaid and passing through the centre of that exit and the said rearmost part.

(2) In this Regulation—

(a) “pre-October 1981 vehicle” means a vehicle manufactured before 1st October 1981 or first used before 1st April 1982; and

(b) “post-October 1981 vehicle” means a vehicle manufactured on or after 1st October 1981 and first used on or after 1st April 1982.

(3) Subject to paragraph 8 of Schedule 2, the following provisions of this Regulation shall apply with respect to the number and position of entrances and exits which shall be provided in a vehicle but a vehicle shall not be treated as failing to comply with any of those provisions by reason only that a number of exits is provided in a vehicle in excess of the number specified in relation to it by any provision of this Regulation.

(4) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (11), a vehicle which has a seating capacity for not more than 45 passengers shall be provided with two exits so placed as not to be on the same side of the vehicle, and

(a) in the case of a pre-October 1981 vehicle, one of which may be a primary emergency exit but neither of which shall be a secondary emergency exit;

(b) in the case of a post-October 1981 vehicle, one of which shall be a primary emergency exit and the other of which shall have dimensions which are not less than those specified in paragraph (1)(a) above in relation to a primary emergency exit:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply in the case of a vehicle which has a seating capacity—

(i) exceeding 23 passengers and which is provided with an exit by virtue of its having a platform of a type described in Regulation 20(a) which communicates with a deck (being in the case of a double-decked vehicle, the lower deck) by means of a doorless opening and has a doorless opening on the nearside of the vehicle continuous with another such opening at the rear of the vehicle, these openings serving together as a means of entrance to or exit from the vehicle, and

(ii) not exceeding 12 passengers and of which the fuel tank is not placed behind the rear wheels if one exit of which, in the case of a post-October 1981 vehicle, the dimensions are not less than 1.21 metres in height by 530 millimetres in width is provided and is placed at the rear of the vehicle.

(5) Where the exits provided in accordance with paragraph (4) are so placed that the distance between their centres is—

(a) in the case of a vehicle first used before 1st January 1974 which has a seating capacity exceeding 30 passengers, less than 3.05 metres;

(b) in the case of a vehicle first used on or after 1st January 1974 which has a seating capacity exceeding 23 passengers, less than 3.05 metres;

(c) in the case of a vehicle first used on or after 1st January 1974 which has a seating capacity exceeding 14 but not exceeding 23 passengers, less than 2.44 metres,

a primary or secondary emergency exit shall be provided and placed so that there is a distance between the nearest points of the openings of that exit and one of the two exits mentioned in paragraph (4) of—

(i) in the cases mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above, not less than 3.05 metres, and

(ii) in the case mentioned in sub-paragraph (c) above, not less than 2.44 metres.

(6) Subject to paragraph (11), a vehicle which has a seating capacity exceeding 45 passengers shall be provided with three exits in respect of which the following provisions shall apply:—

(a) in the case of a pre-October 1981 vehicle one of the exits, but not more than one, may be a secondary emergency exit, and in the case of a post-October 1981 vehicle one of the exits shall be a primary emergency exit and any other exit (not being a secondary emergency exit) shall have dimensions not less than those specified in paragraph (1)(a) above in relation to primary emergency exits;

(b) two of the exits (neither being a secondary emergency exit) shall be so placed as not to be on the same side of the vehicle;

(c) where two exits are placed on the same side of the vehicle, the distance between their centres shall not be less than 3.05 metres; and

(d) one of the exits (not being a secondary emergency exit) shall be placed at the front end of the vehicle so that the distance between its centre and the foremost part of the vehicle is not more than 3.05 metres and another of the exits (not being a secondary emergency exit) shall be placed at the rear end of the vehicle so that the distance between its centre and the rearmost part of the vehicle is not more than 3.05 metres:

Provided that—

(i) in the case of a vehicle registered on or after 28th October 1964 and before 19th June 1968 the reference in sub-paragraph (c) above to 3.05 metres shall be replaced by a reference to 4.75 metres and sub-paragraph (d) shall not apply, and

(ii) in the case of any other vehicle first used before 1st January 1974 sub-paragraph (d) above shall apply with the omission of the words “(not being a secondary emergency exit)” in both places where they occur.

(7) In the case of a half-decked vehicle an emergency exit shall be provided in the roof of the vehicle so placed that the transverse centre line of that exit lies within 610 millimetres of the mid-point between the front edges of the foremost and of the rearmost passenger seats in the vehicle.

(8) Where, in the case of a double-decked vehicle which has a permanent top, access to the upper-deck is obtained by means of an enclosed staircase, an emergency exit shall be provided on that deck and placed otherwise than on the nearside of the vehicle.

(9) Every entrance provided in a vehicle shall be placed on the nearside of the vehicle, but one or more entrances may be provided on the offside of the vehicle if—

(a) as respects any entrance so provided it is not also an exit provided in accordance with any of the foregoing provisions in this Regulation;

(b) every such entrance is fitted with a door which can be controlled only by the driver while sitting in his seat; and

(c) the device available to the driver for opening or closing that door is a separate and readily distinguishable device from that available to the driver for opening or closing any door fitted to the nearside of the vehicle:

Provided that this paragraph shall not apply in the case of any such vehicle as is mentioned in the proviso to paragraph (4).

(10) A grab handle shall be fitted to every entrance and exit (other than an emergency exit) to assist passengers to board or alight from the vehicle.

(11) In the case of a vehicle—

(a) being a post-October 1981 vehicle,

(b) having a seating capacity for more than 16 passengers, and

(c) being a single-decked vehicle or a half-decked vehicle,

there shall be at least one emergency exit which complies with the requirements specified in paragraph (12) and which is either—

(i) in the front face of the vehicle, or

(ii) in the rear face of the vehicle, or

(iii) in the roof of the vehicle.

(12) The requirements referred to in paragraph (11) are, in respect of each exit therein referred to, as follows:—

(a) the dimensions of the aperture shall be such that it has a total area of not less than 4,000 square centimetres and shall include a rectangular area the dimensions of which are not less than 70 centimetres by 50 centimetres;

(b) the exit shall be so constructed that it can be opened by means available to persons inside the vehicle, and it may be so constructed that it can be opened also by persons outside the vehicle; and

(c) the exit shall be—

(i) ejectable, or

(ii) constructed of specified safety glass which can be readily broken by the application of reasonable force so as to afford a clear aperture having the dimensions referred to in subparagraph (a) above, and provided in a position adjacent to the exit with a suitable means, readily available to persons inside the vehicle, for breaking the glass, or

(iii) except where the exit is an exit in the roof, hinged.