INCREASING AFFORDABILITY, EASE OF USE Despite Yeager’s assertions that cost remains a challenge,
school-bus market representatives say otherwise. Tony Everett, vice president of transportation solutions at HSM, said that lower prices have fueled the growing demand for seats with three-point belts. HSM is the new name of Hickory Springs, which purchased Te C.E. White Company in January; it also acquired seat-foam supplier Triad Fabco in 2007. “Five years ago, the price of a three-point seat was a bar-
rier for entry, but now the price of the three-point technol- ogy has held even and become a better value,” Everett said. “It’s making it easier for people to look at it and say: Yes, we want to go in that direction.” In late winter, he said, HSM will roll out its next gener-
ation of three-point and child restraint seats featuring con- tinued weight reduction along with aesthetic improvements and improved durability. HSM’s latest offering is a portable child restraint (PCR)
system that Everett claimed is the only fully contained por- table seating system that folds up like a miniature suitcase. “No comparable unit offers this feature. It has ease of use, speed of application, durability, and easy storage all rolled up into one,” he continued. “It’s another Bob Knapp (product development, HSM) invention. He is a longtime advocate of child safety in this industry. He launched the safety push into this industry, he loves it and he’s always looking for the next great idea.” Meanwhile, Charlie Vits, market development manager of
IMMI’s Bus Division, told STN that OEMs are buying more seats with lap-shoulder belts because their customers are starting to request them. Buses may be entirely equipped with SafeGuard lap-shoulder belt seats or have just a row or two for younger students or those with disabilities, he explained. “More and more customers are recognizing the benefits provided by seats that are fitted with lap-shoulder belts and
integrated child seats. We see these seats like other suc- cessful safety enhancements such as the stop arm, crossing gates, Child Check-Mate, etc.,” said Vits. “It took a while before everyone recognized the benefits they brought.” Vits said IMMI has seen increased demand for Safe-
Guard’s upgradeable seat backs with either the lap-shoulder belt or the company’s Integrated Child Seat (ICS) that was designed specifically to install on all IC bus models built be- ginning in 2010. IMMI also unveiled an updated ICS system. “Our updated Integrated Child Seat has the web adjust- ment now incorporated into the upper portion of the seat, so the hands of the attendant are always visible to the child to minimize concerns for touch. Detailed features such as hold-in-place buckles all help to simplify securement of the child,” Vits continued.
OTHER RISING TRENDS IN SEATING Companies always have an eye on prevention when cre-
ating new technology to protect people and minimize risk. Both Zonar Systems and Quantum XXI offer electronic fleet management solutions with a wide range of capabil- ities, from student tracking, to high-definition GPS and vehicle diagnostics, to monitoring bus driver behaviors like seat belt usage. “For the most part, drivers are wearing their seat belts,”
said Don Carnahan, Zonar’s vice president of business de- velopment and NAPT’s president-elect. “It’s something you want as a standard operating procedure. If there is way to get feedback to indicate that a bus driver is not wearing the seat belt, you have information you can use in a meeting with the driver. As soon as they know you can tell whether they are wearing it or not, you can get behavior modification.” With Zonar’s ZAlert, users can set up custom input
alerts that communicate when drivers skip any critical step that can impact student safety. Carnahan pointed out that whenever he hears about bus accidents in which drivers were not buckled up, the end result is always much worse than it had to be — the driver ends up in the stairwell and the unmanned bus veers out of control. Tis was one cause of a tragedy on Nov. 6, 2006, in Huntsville, Ala., when a school bus plunged 40 feet off a freeway overpass after being sideswiped by a car. Te force hurtled the unbuckled school bus driver out of his seat and through the loading doors. Te unmanned bus then left the roadway. Four high school girls were killed, while the bus driver and 15 students were seriously injured. While Carnahan said he believes this type of seat-belt
alert is essential for bus drivers, he is not sold on the idea of alerts going off when students fail to wear their seat belts. “Tere would be a ton of electronics for say 70 stu- dents on the largest bus,” Carnahan continued. “For the driver, I don’t believe there are any signals coming from seat belts in passenger locations in school buses. One of the things we need to be careful about is what
£ HSM introduced a portable child restraint system that folds up into a small suitcase that is easy to carry and to stow on the bus.
you set up, or you could be overwhelmed with a bunch of messages. We have all kinds of alarms in our suite.” Quantum XXI CEO Richard Gallagher agreed, noting that it is fairly simple to tie in driver seat-belt usage with its electronic control module, but it would be much more challenging to link all the passenger seats.
www.stnonline.com 63
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 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76