This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
W


With safety a priority in student transportation, backing up the


yellow school bus can be a precarious undertaking. Te combination of limited visibility and the need to maneuver around students, pedestrians and other vehicles has the potential for disaster. Te National Safety Council (NSC) advises that backing should


occur only “where absolutely necessary.” Where it is allowed, school bus drivers have relied on safety protocol, such as back- up alarms, four-way hazard lights and horns, and the use of adult spotters as recommended by NSC. More advanced measures include a variety of models of back-up camera kits, most of which include a camera mounted on the back of the bus sending images to a monitor installed inside the bus. Rosco Vision Systems has gone a step further with its Smart-


Vision™ STSK4530 Rearview Mirror/Monitor Backup Camera System for small buses and the introduction of the Smart-Vision™ STSK6630 for large buses. “Te goal for all Rosco Vision products is to improve the safety


for drivers, passengers and pedestrians,” said Peter Plate, Rosco’s director of sales & marketing.


SMART-VISION™ STSK4530 – FOR THE SMALL BUS Rosco developed Smart-Vision STSK4530 in the fourth quarter of 2010 in response to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule RIN 2127-AK43, Plate said. Te rule would amend the Federal Motor Vehicle Standard No.


111 to “expand the required field of view to enable the driver of all trucks, multipurpose vehicles, buses and low-speed vehicles rated at 10,000 pounds or less gross vehicle weight, to detect areas behind the motor vehicle to reduce death and injury resulting from backing incidents involving small children and disabled persons.” “Te only technology currently available with the ability to


comply with this proposal would be a back-up camera system that includes a rear mounted video camera and in-vehicle visual display,” Plate said. In the case of Smart-Vision STSK4530 for the small school bus,


a 4.3-inch LCD monitor is automatically displayed on the interior rearview mirror when the vehicle shifts into reverse, allowing the driver to see behind the bus. Once the driver shifts into other modes of bus operation, a normal mirror view reappears. Rosco sales manager Robert Buck estimated that in addition to


being a standard installed system at several school and commercial bus OEMs, 542 small buses in 18 districts and or fleet locations nationwide are retrofitted with Smart-Vision™ STSK4530.


SMART-VISION™ STSK6630 – FOR THE LARGE BUS Currently in development, Plate called the Smart-Vision STSK6630


“the future of large bus safety.” Rosco showed the prototype at the NAPT Summit trade show in October. “As seen with rule RIN 2127-AK43, this is where bus safety is


headed,” he added. Expected to be available to the public in the second quarter of


2012, Smart-Vision STSK6630 for large buses was developed later because rule RIN 2127-AK43 placed emphasis on getting the small bus product to market faster, Plate said. Additionally, camera and monitor technology only needed slight adjustments to be adapted


This artist’s rendering shows how Rosco’s Smart-Vision technology automatically displays an LCD monitor on the interior rearview mirror when the bus moves in reverse. The LCD then disappears when the driver shifts into other modes of operation.


www.stnonline.com 47


for the small bus application. On the other hand, the technology and brightness of the monitor


for the large bus unit required more customization to address vibration, tint, and glare. As with the small bus product, Plate said, the Smart-Vision


STSK6630 offers automated safety. No driver input is required, and the unit is activated when the driver shifts the large bus into reverse mode.


IMPROVED SAFETY FOR ALL SIZES OF BUSES NHTSA estimates that back-over crashes involving light vehicles


account for an estimated 228 fatalities and 17,000 injuries annually, said Plate of why Smart-Vision was developed first for small buses. Children represent approximately 44 percent of the deaths. Rosco designed the Smart-Vision STSK4530 for small buses to


allow the driver to see everything behind the vehicle in the actual rearview mirror. “It is perfect for backing into tight spots or moving in reverse


when visibility is limited – it’s like having an extra eye,” Plate said. A CMOS lens sensor on the camera processes images in all light


conditions. And the camera is also equipped with a 170-degree diagonal field of vision for extensive coverage behind the bus. “Tis small and durable unit will keep drivers, passengers, and


pedestrians safe and secure because the driver will always know what’s going on around the vehicle,” Plate said. Large buses equipped with Smart-Vision STSK6630 have options


for multiple cameras and automatic monitor view changes based on the operational conditions of the bus, Plate said. For example, he explained, if the bus is in reverse, the rear back- up camera view appears on the monitor. And when the bus is


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60