Opinion THOUGHT LEADER School Bus Safety:
From the Factory Floor to the Driver’s Seat and Beyond
WRITTEN BY PHIL HORLOCK E
very day across the country, millions of families place their children in the care of their school district’s student transportation team members, who are expected to deliver
their young charges safely and efficiently to and from school. School districts and school transportation companies devote significant resources to the hiring and training of qualified technicians and bus drivers with one single objective: To provide the undisputed safest method for transporting 25 million students each day.
Te school bus manufacturers and their extensive number of supplier partners also devote significant resources to school bus safety—developing new ideas and introducing new technologies that will make our buses safer than ever. At Blue Bird, we believe we have an obligation to bring these innovations to our customers and our students, features that can help a bus avoid a crash, prevent an injury, alert a driver on a potential incident and provide real-time vehicle diagnostic information. But these products and features need to be affordable and provide outstand- ing value for the school districts at a time when we are all being challenged to do more with fewer resources. So what are these products and features that are either here today and available, or may be here tomorrow? Electronic stability control and heads-up display systems help enhance the driver’s control of the vehicle. Electronic stability control integrates driver input and makes corrections as driving conditions change to help drivers maintain their safest driving path. Tis technology is especially important in rainy, snowy or icy conditions. It is also an outstanding feature to assist in avoiding collision, providing superior vehicle control for the driver. Heads- up displays project important information such as speed and warn- ing lights on the windshield so the driver can see them without having to look down at the instrument panel. GPS trackers, video cameras and child check alarms allow driv- ers, supervisory personnel and law enforcement officials to monitor activities on the school bus, track its route, and confirm that it is operating in an expected manner, with no disturbances or security issues and with no child left behind at the end of the route.
50 School Transportation News • MAY 2016
Phil Horlock is the president and CEO of school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation.
LED/HID headlights, blind spot detection, prox- imity detection, approaching vehicle warnings, tighter turning radius and improved mirrors increase visibility and help to create an envelope of safety around the bus. Tese headlights improve brightness compared with conventional headlights. Blind spot detection systems alert the driver with an audible, tactile and/or visual alert if there is another vehicle in close proxim- ity to the bus that the driver may not be able to see or detect in the mirrors. Proximity detection alerts the driver if there is a person or an object in close prox- imity to the bus when the bus is maneuvering at slow speed. Approaching vehicle warnings activate when the stop arm is deployed to warn students and drivers when an approaching vehicle is traveling at a speed that makes it unlikely or impossible for the vehicle to stop before reaching the bus. A tighter turning radius
limits infringement on surrounding lanes of traffic when turning corners and virtually eliminates the need to back up in tight cul- de-sacs. Improved mirror technology and placement increase the driver’s comprehensive sight lines. Lane departure warnings and distracted/drowsy driver warnings help keep drivers focused on the road ahead. Lane departure warn- ings detect the limits of the drive lane (assuming road markings are present) and alerts the driver with an audible, tactile and/or visual alert if the bus is deviating from the lane. Distracted/drowsy driver warnings alert the driver with an audible, tactile and/or visual alert if the bus is detected moving erratically or deviating from an assumed course. At Blue Bird, we’re committed to providing advanced and
affordable safety technologies that help school districts provide safe and reliable transportation. But we know that bus safety doesn’t stop when the bus rolls off the factory floor. We applaud the efforts of school districts and transportation companies that are making an investment in school transportation safety; and we demand that the general public always keeps child safety top of mind when sharing the road with school buses. Let’s all continue to work together so that school buses
remain the undisputed safest method for transporting our precious children. ●
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