The quantity of emergency exit windows in certain Volvo 9700 motor coaches manufactured by Prevost Cars has been determined to be insufficient, thus the company has been forced to recall these vehicles. All affected vehicles are of model years between 2009 and 2013.
27 motor coaches in total lack the proper amount of exit windows. This goes against the protocols laid forth in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 217, “Bus Emergency Exit and Window Retention and Release.” Because the number of windows isn’t high enough to meet the minimum set by that standard, anyone on the motor coach is at risk of being injured or killed in the event of an emergency. This is because they might not be able to get out of the bus in a timely manner.
Prevost will contact owners about how they can get installed an extra emergency exit window at no charge. Dealers will conduct this installation and the notice will not go out until July. However, the necessary parts won’t be dispersed anytime soon. Therefore, motor coach owners might not be able to get their vehicles fixed until September, the month in which the parts should become available.
If anyone has a concern about this issue, they can get in touch with either Prevost directly or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. If the latter is chosen, it should be noted that the campaign number is SR12-57.