NHTSA Recall 05V345000: School bus stop arm assembly (other)

Certain 2002-2005 my collins bantam, super bantam, and grand bantam school buses equipped with "5" series stop arms. These school buses were originally sold in or currently registered in states other than the following: alaska, colorado, connecticut, delaware, idaho, illinois, indiana, iowa, kansas, kentucky, maine, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, missouri, montana, nebraska, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new mexico, new york, north dakota, ohio, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, south dakota, tennessee, utah, vermont, virginia, washington, west virginia, wisconsin, wyoming, and the district of columbia. In extremely cold weather, the microswitches used internally to position the sign in the open and closed positions may malfunction, causing the sign to open or close in an improper position, or to not open at all.

Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing vehicles should the motorist not stop at the correct location.

Collins will notify all its customers of this campaign. For those buses operated in or near any of the states listed above, collins is encouraging the bus owners to obtain the replacement switch. For those buses operated in the warmer states, collins will replace the switch upon owner request. For those customers who request the remedy, collins will replace the original switch with a switch pack that is not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring is properly connected. The safety improvement campaign began october 12, 2005. Owners may contact collins at 800-448-7825 or specialty manufacturing at 1-800-951-7867.

This action is deemed a safety improvement campaign and is not being conducted under the safety act.customers may contact the national highway traffic safety administration's vehicle safety hotline at 1-888-327-4236; (tty: 1-800-424-9153); or go to http://www.safercar.gov.