School Transportation News Magazine | November 2009
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WE’VE BEEN HAVING A SEAT BELT DEBATE, AND THERE’S PROS AND CONS TO IT, AND NOW THEY ARE RAISING THE SEAT BACKS. THAT’S ONLY ONE ANSWER; THERE ARE OTHER ANSWERS OUT THERE BECAUSE TECHNOLOGY HAS COME SO FAR SINCE 1977. — Brandon Billingsley, Heavy Duty Bus Parts
dant because the flame-retardant char- acteristics are built into the chemical makeup of the foam core. And, accord- ing to Billingsley, it will meet the most stringent flame-retardant test, like the bag burn test.
“Te entire foam piece will meet it,
from the very outside skin portion all the way to the inside and throughout the core. You can’t cut it open and create an oxygen flow because it’s just one solid piece,” said Billingsley.
Consumers will also still be able to get
the same vinyl look, as the mold has been etched to give it that finished graining pattern for aesthetic purposes. Te seat could also be molded to further the com- partmentalization by placing a side wall bolster to keep kids from coming out of the seat on the aisle during an off-camber collision. It would also keep kids from sit- ting halfway into the aisle. “You could start doing more radical
things, like adding some shape to the back of the seat that would keep them more compartmentalized. Instead of raising the seat backs, we could give them some shape to the back of the seat, just a small contour, that, in the event of a serious collision where they could be ejected over the seat, would help hold them in,” said Billingsley. His next step will be to discuss the new
technology at the 2010 National Congress on School Transportation, asking whether this is a better application for school bus seats. “We’ve been having a seat belt debate,
and there’s pros and cons to it, and now they are raising the seat backs. Tat’s only one answer; there are other answers out there because technology has come so far since 1977. Tis is going to open up a whole range of options to say, ‘Hey, this is what we can do as far as compartmentalization and moving it forward,’” explained Billingsley. Te debate may not be as difficult as
he once thought. According to Mike Ken- ney, chair of the school bus specifications committee for the upcoming National Congress on School Transportation, there is nothing in FMVSS or NCST that requires vinyl on seats. “In the national specifications, we try
not to get too specific with a material but instead apply a performance criteria,” said Kenney. “We are very careful when adding technology to the standards as there are several states that have to follow them by the letter and we are mindful of cost. But most important it is about student safety.” Something that Billingsley agrees with
100 percent. “It’s not a sales approach, it’s a safety
approach.” n 50 Circle 108 on STN Product Info Card
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