The capabilities of ADAS vary.


For school buses, air-disc braking systems, which facilitate automatic braking, have been standard on Blue Bird and IC Bus models since 2018. Such systems employ automated controls to safeguard a wide range of icy, snow-covered road, and slippery roadway driving and road conditions. Electronic stability control was first in- troduced to the industry by Blue Bird in 2015. Three years later, IC Bus became the first North American school bus manufacturer to offer collision mitiga- tion technology as a standard feature. DeVivo Bus Sales in New Britain,


Connecticut is a Collins Bus and IC Bus dealer. Like all dealerships, the compa- ny interacts daily with many different stakeholders in pupil transportation. “What you should be asking is


if driver training is available with [ADAS],” said Ron King, the technical director of DeVivo Bus, of purchase decisions. “There is a learning curve that goes along with it. I see com- plaints that are nothing more than [about] learning how the system oper- ates. Can it be disabled by the driver? We don’t want that.” He added that DeVivo bus drivers


have been known to disconnect the units on the dash to prevent them from taking control and sending alerts. King also suggested that fleet operators ask if the technology adjusts for rural and city driving. “As driving conditions change, we need to be able to also,” he noted. Overall, King remains upbeat about


ADAS solutions. “I believe in collision mitigation systems. I think it has a good place in our industry to reduce driving distrac- tion-caused preventable accidents,” he said. “The industry needs to develop more of the pedestrian detection side for the future products.” It’s also important to know the role


and capability that a well-wired sys- tem can provide. An ancillary benefit of employing ADAS technology is an


46 School Transportation News • MAY 2024


opportunity to incorporate sensors and cameras to monitor and improve driver behavior through coaching. A joint solution currently being


32% of


transportation directors/ supervisors said


connected


technology is a priority for


transportation operations.


63% of


transportation directors/ supervisors said they


prefer to use one vendor for all their technology needs.


(Out of 97 responses to a recent STN magazine reader survey.)


installed in Jefferson County Public Schools buses in Louisville, Kentucky, combines 247Security’s video and management system with Samsara’s dashcam solution. “ADAS is a broad term that cov- ers the general idea that technology can be used to reduce incidents and accidents caused by human error,” explained Robert Scott, senior vice president for strategy at 247. “Car owners with late-model vehicles are experiencing this now with things like lane departure warning, blind sport detection, and adaptive cruise control, to name a few applications available. With school buses, ADAS detections are often focused on driver behavior, object identification and G-Force generated events. “The technology being deployed


through our work with Samsara proactively identifies risky behavior, like not wearing a seatbelt or tailgat- ing, and triggers automatic alerts for school bus administrators to review.” Scott added that with the Samsara and 247Security link, customers may open a live view of what is happening on the bus both inside and outside the vehicle, offering visibility across six cameras simultaneously. “Links can be established between camera systems and planning sys- tems to enable navigation aids for drivers, providing turn-by-turn direc- tions, student identification, and even powering parent mobile applications,” said Scott. “This 360-degree visibility along with automated safety events can result in meaningful real-time and post-event corrections to im- prove driver performance.”


Electric Charging Systems Electric school buses have ADAS


but are even more connected—to the grid that is. (More on grid resiliency for


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