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

Marking, positioning and operation of emergency exits

24.—(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 10 of Schedule 2, every emergency exit, other than an emergency exit with which a vehicle is required to be fitted under Regulation 21(11) shall comply with the following conditions—

(a) the emergency exit shall—

(i) be clearly marked as such inside and outside the vehicle;

(ii) be fitted with doors which open outwards or, in the case of a secondary emergency exit, be constructed of specified safety glass which can be readily broken by the application of reasonable force so as to afford a clear aperture of dimensions not less than those referred to in Regulation 21(1)(b);

(iii) except in the case of an emergency exit provided in the roof of a vehicle, be readily accessible to passengers;

(iv) in the case of a single-decked or half-decked vehicle or the lower deck of a double-decked vehicle, be so situated that passengers can step directly from the passage referred to in Regulation 26(1)(g) to the outside of the vehicle:

Provided that this requirement shall not apply in the case of an emergency exit provided in the roof of the vehicle or in the case of a secondary emergency exit;

(b) the means of operation of doors fitted to the emergency exit shall be clearly indicated;

(c) the doors of the emergency exit shall not be fitted with any system of power operation; and

(d) the means of operation of the doors of the emergency exit, other than those provided in the upper deck of a double-decked vehicle or in the roof of a vehicle, shall be readily accessible to persons of normal height standing at ground level outside the vehicle.

(2) Every emergency exit with which a vehicle is required to be fitted under Regulation 21(11) shall—

(a) be clearly marked as an emergency exit—

(i) on the inside of the vehicle, and

(ii) in a case where the emergency exit can be opened from the outside, on the outside of the vehicle;

(b) be accessible to persons inside the vehicle when the vehicle is tilted to either side through an angle of 90 degrees, measured from the normal vertical plane of the vehicle;

(c) be clearly marked with its means of operation;

(d) if hinged, open outwards; and

(e) if ejectable, be fitted with a restraint which will prevent the part of the emergency exit which is ejected from becoming completely detached from the vehicle but which will not prevent egress from the vehicle by persons within it.