NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Audit Query AQ18-006: Sale of noncompliant school bus
- Open
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Audit Query AQ18-006 on December 1, 2018; NHTSA's investigations file listed it as open on October 23, 2026. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 2015 Chevrolet Express for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- AQ18-006 (also written AQ18006)
- Investigation type
- Audit Query An administrative investigation into compliance with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting Early Warning data on time or carrying out a recall.
- Status
- Open since December 1, 2018
- Opened
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Component
- Seats
- Vehicles and equipment
- 2015 Chevrolet Express
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Audit Query AQ18-006.
NHTSA's Office of Chief Counsel received a report from a private attorney representing the estate of a child passenger in a 15 passenger van who died in a crash allegedly occurring when the van was being employed by a school district for student transportation. The attorney provided the agency with a bill of sale and accompanying documentation indicating that the van was sold in August of 2015 by Wiesner Chevrolet of Huntsville, Texas to the Trinity County Texas Independent School District. Sale of a vehicle that does not comply with the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards (FMVSS) applicable to school buses when that vehicle is likely to be used significantly to transport preprimary, primary, and secondary school students to or from school or an event related to school constitutes a violation of Section 30112 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The purpose of this AQ is to investigate the potential violation of the Act's prohibition of sales of a school bus that is not compliant to FMVSS.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Audit Query AQ18-006. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Chevrolet
Chevrolet Express
What an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Chevrolet VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for AQ18-006
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.