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The Next Big Thing is Almost Here Few school bus operators have experienced them yet, but electronic stability controls available from OEMs promise latest in vehicle safety
WRITTEN BY ERIC WOOLSON L
ike eager youngsters awaiting their first bus ride, a growing number of fleet managers and drivers
around the country are anticipating the impending arrival of a new gen- eration of vehicles with electronic stability control technology, or ESC. Several fleet managers reached by
School Transportation News said their districts would be receiving new ESC-equipped buses for the coming academic year, but they weren’t prepared to comment on the record until they had an opportunity to see how the vehicles performed. Two people who are in a position to comment are Fred Andersky, director of customer solutions for the controls group at Bendix Com- mercial Vehicle Systems, and Scott Smay, director of engineering and product development for IC Bus. Tey both agreed that ESC technol- ogy is certain to help make a safe mode of transportation safer and destined to dramatically advance the development of collision mitigation technology in short order. “ESC technology doesn’t replace the need for a safe driver practicing safe driving habits and getting good driver training. We can’t make a bad driver a good driver, but we can help a good driver avoid a really bad, bad day,” Andersky explained. ESC’s critical interaction is with the brake system—the pads, calipers, drums and air pressure that do the work of stopping a vehicle. Te system’s yaw rate and lateral accel- eration sensors, steering angle and wheel speed sensors instantly know critical information regarding vehicle speed, direction and driver intent.
It responds within fractions of a second to help the driver prevent a vehicle from spinning out or rolling over by slowing the bus through throttle reduction and, if needed, selective applying the brakes. “Stability gives the driver options.
Let’s say we’re fishtailing to the left, we may just want to apply brakes on left steer axle to help the driver out,” Andersky said. “What we want to be able to do is apply brakes when and where necessary to help the driver regain control. It has the ability to read what’s going on with the vehi- cle, typically, sooner than the driver.” Te National Transportation
Safety Board first recommended ESC technology in tractor-trailer rigs five years ago. Te National Highway Transportation Safety Administration finalized rules in 2015 to require ESC in trucks and motorcoaches over 26,000 pounds beginning in August 2017. NHTSA projects the requirement will prevent more than 1,700 crashes a year and reduce large-vehicle rollovers by 56 percent.
Tomas Built Buses has part-
nered with Meritor WABCO to provide factory-installed SmartTrac Electronic Stability Control on its Saf-T-Liner C2 school buses since last September. Noting the High Point, North
Carolina, company’s commitment to “building and designing buses that are safe, efficient and provide cus- tomers with the lowest total cost of ownership possible,” Tomas Built Buses President and CEO Caley Edgerly said. “Our ESC technology helps us do just that. Yes, school buses are the safest form of transpor-
24 School Transportation News • AUGUST 2016
tation on the road. However, the beauty of ESC is that it can sense bus instability before the driver can, so it actually can help eliminate ac- cidents before they occur. No matter how safe a school bus is, it is even safer if an accident is avoided.”
CARS, TRUCKS… AND THEN BUSES Smay and Andersky said the move to install the technology in school buses within the past 18 months is a natural progression. New technol- ogy often begins with cars before migrating to tractor-trailers, then single-unit trucks and school buses. “We have truck customers who say they will not buy trucks unless they have safety systems on them, so the market has pulled technology into the truck side,” Smay said. “I haven’t seen buses ask for it as much so there’s a different dynamic, a different demand.” He added, “Some of it is aware- ness and as more people become more aware of the technology, demand will increase. Te other factor is when you think of school buses, you think about them starting and stopping at slower speeds. Te stability issue comes into the conversation when higher speeds are involved and there are more chances for an accident.”
Andersky noted that school buses already are one of the safest modes of transportation, which cash-strapped school boards will no doubt take into consideration as they weigh the added costs and benefits of ESC technology. “Tere is an aspect of, ‘Do we need all this technology? We’re still
Scott Smay of IC Bus said safety systems such as ESC have mostly been demanded so far by truck customers.
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