Subdivision 1. Postcrash inspection. (a) A peace officer responding to an accident involving a school bus or Head Start bus must immediately notify the State Patrol if the accident results in:

(1) a fatality;

(2) bodily injury to a person who, as a result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident; or

(3) one or more motor vehicles incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, requiring a motor vehicle to be transported away from the scene by tow truck or other motor vehicle.

(b) No person shall drive or knowingly permit or cause to be driven, for the purpose of transporting students, any school bus or Head Start bus after such an accident unless:

(1) the vehicle has been inspected by the Minnesota State Patrol and the State Patrol has determined that the vehicle may safely be operated; or

(2) a waiver has been granted under subdivision 2.

(c) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

Subd. 2. Waiver. A state trooper or designee of the Minnesota State Patrol called to the scene of an accident by a responding peace officer under subdivision 1 may waive the inspection requirement of subdivision 1 if the trooper or State Patrol designee determines that a postcrash inspection is not needed or cannot be accomplished without unreasonable delay. The trooper or State Patrol designee granting a waiver must provide to the driver of the school bus for which the waiver is granted a written statement that the inspection has been waived. The written statement must include the incident report number assigned to the accident by the State Patrol.

History: 1Sp1995 c 3 art 2 s 36; 2009 c 113 s 1