O.C.G.A. § 40-8-220 (2019)
Inspection of public school buses
(a) Every school bus which is defined by paragraph (55) of Code Section 40-1-1 which is owned or operated by a state, county, or municipal government or under contract by any independent school system shall be inspected annually, or more frequently at the discretion of the commissioner of public safety, under the supervision of an employee of the Department of Public Safety.
(b) The employee of the department shall supervise the inspection of such vehicle to determine if such vehicle possesses in safe operating condition the equipment which is applicable to school buses required by Parts 1 through 4 of Article 1 of this chapter and the equipment required by Part 6 of Article 1 of this chapter.
(c) If such vehicle is found to meet the equipment and safety requirements specified in subsection (b) of this Code section, then the employee of the department making the inspection shall issue a school bus certificate of safety inspection to the vehicle.
(d) If such vehicle does not meet the equipment and safety requirements specified in subsection (b) of this Code section, then that vehicle shall not be operated on the streets and highways of this state, and no school bus certificate of safety inspection shall be issued to such vehicle.
(e) All public school buses shall be made available for the inspection required under this Code section, and no person shall conceal any bus required to be inspected under this Code section.
(f) The commissioner of public safety is authorized to implement any and all provisions of this Code section by the promulgation of necessary rules and regulations. When duly promulgated and adopted, all rules and regulations issued pursuant to this Code section shall have the force of law.
History
(Code 1933, § 68E-208, enacted by Ga. L. 1979, p. 906, § 1; Code 1933, § 68E-501, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 4; Code 1981, § 40-8-249; Code 1981, § 40-8-220, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, § 9; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 40; Ga. L. 2000, p. 951, § 5B-8; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 19-8/HB 501.)
Annotations
Cross references. - Duties of state fire marshal regarding setting forth of minimum standards covering design, construction, and other aspects of transportation of liquefied petroleum gas by tank truck, tank trailer, or other method,
Vehicle Equipment Safety Compact 40-8-280 through 40-8-291. [Repealed].
§ 10-1-265. Regulation of size, weight, and other aspects of vehicles and loads on public highways, § 32-6-20 et seq. Observance of laws by motor carriers, § 40-1-122.
JUDICIAL DECISIONS Cited in Archer v. Johnson, 90 Ga. App. 418, 83 S.E.2d 314 (1954); Beck v. Wade, 100 Ga. App. 79, 110 S.E.2d 43 (1959);
Hodges v. State, 100 Ga. App. 611, 112 S.E.2d 373 (1959); King v. State, 133 Ga. App. 426, 211 S.E.2d 363 (1974).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Coverage of inspection laws. - Legislature intended that both owner-drivers and nonowner-drivers of vehicles should
be covered by the motor vehicle inspection laws. 1967 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 67-433.
ARTICLE 1 EQUIPMENT GENERALLY Editor’s notes. - Ga. L. 1982, p. 165, which repealed and reenacted Parts 1 through 4 of this article, contained a legislative intent provision in § 11, not codified by the General Assembly, which stated: ‘‘The General Assembly finds that properly equipped and serviced vehicles contribute to the public welfare and safety of the citizens of Georgia through the reduction of motor vehicle accidents resulting from mechanical failure. The General Assembly also finds that it is the responsibility of all motorists to maintain
their motor vehicles in proper working condition. It is the intent of this Act to encourage all citizens to maintain their motor vehicles in safe operating condition. It is furthermore the intent of this Act to encourage the Department of Human Resources to promulgate rules and regulations specifying minimum safety standards for motor vehicles used to transport persons to and from day care centers or child care centers licensed by said department.’’
JUDICIAL DECISIONS Vehicle retains ‘‘automobile’’ status regardless of operability. - Wheeled vehicle, designed to be self-propelled and
to serve as a means of transportation, does not gain or lose status as an ‘‘automobile’’ depending upon whether at any
given time it is or is not fully capable of being operated as such. Cotton States
Mut. Ins. Co. v. Statiras, 157 Ga. App. 169, 276 S.E.2d 853 (1981).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Basis for vehicular distinctions. - Legislature based its vehicular distinctions not solely upon the load carried but upon the manner in which the defined load is carried by the vehicle under consideration. 1968 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 68-308. Vehicle with flexible, welded joint. - Type of unit which is secured by a flexible, welded joint is a single unified motor vehicle and not two separate vehicles. As such, it is subject to the braking inspection requirements imposed by law on motor vehicles. 1968 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 68-308. Pole trailers. - Legislature intended
to classify as pole trailers only those vehicles in which the load thereupon carried was utilized to carry the trailer’s own weight between the supporting connections. 1968 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 68-308. Golf cart is motor vehicle. - Golf cart was a vehicle other than a tractor, not operated upon a track, and propelled by other than muscular power and thus fell within the definition of ‘‘motor vehicle.’’ If it was to be operated upon a public road, the operator must comply with registration and inspection requirements and all equipment requirements of former Code 1933, Ch. 68-17. 1972 Op. Att’y Gen. No. U72-78.
PART 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS