What is the outcome if a peace officer or mechanical inspector deems a school bus unfit for operation?
- It can only function after hours
- It must be decommissioned permanently
- It can only be used for non-school related transport
- You can't operate that vehicle as a school bus until the defect(s) has been fixed ✓
Answer: D. You can't operate that vehicle as a school bus until the defect(s) has been fixed
You may not use the vehicle for school bus work again until the defect or defects are repaired.
Why this is the answer
The handbook section on unfit vehicles says that once a peace officer or mechanical inspector judges a school bus unfit, it cannot be run as a school bus until the defect is corrected. The same section also tells drivers never to carry passengers in a defective bus and that passenger safety comes first. That supports keeping the bus out of school service rather than treating it as permanently retired or limited to certain hours or non-school trips.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. It can only function after hours — The rule is not about time of day; an unfit bus is kept out of school bus operation until repairs are done, so after-hours use is not allowed.
- B. It must be decommissioned permanently — The passage does not call for permanent decommissioning; it only bars using the vehicle as a school bus until the defects are fixed.
- C. It can only be used for non-school related transport — Limiting it to non-school transport is not what the passage says; the restriction concerns operating it as a school bus, and it remains until repairs are made.
Remember it
Think “defect fixed, bus back in service”: an unfit school bus waits for repairs.