School Bus Interior / Exterior HMI Design
School Bus HMI and Seat designs reviewed by Design HMI last few years have great potential for improvement coupled with cost reduction; especially with upcoming EVs. Most HMI input Devices and Wiring to support those seem to be based on early 1990s design. Also feature both for driver comfort and those of young passengers are based on very limited time in the bus – say under 30 minutes. Would assume that time on the bus for rural area schools is longer than that not including field trips for the kids. Most important feature improvement does not automatically mean major cost addition. Also, the active usage life of buses with schools exceeds 20 years so feature improvements can be integrated even into current fleets with schools.
Coming from one Vehicle Industry like Passenger Cars, one can fall into the mistaken illusion that public transport vehicles follow similar feature & application designs.
I recently completed an overview of the current US School Bus Interiors Design to understand features and potential for improvements. I was surprised at how much School Bus Interior Design differed from normal vehicle designs, both in features and seat designs.
Upon further research and discussions with specialists, understand that a child is safest when traveling via school bus. Therefore, I really believe that a great deal of credit must go to School Bus Drivers and the care they take.
Per NHTSA, School Bus is the safest vehicle on the road—your child is much safer taking a bus to and from school than traveling by car. Although four to six school-age children die each year on school vehicles, that’s less than one percent of all traffic fatalities nationwide. NHTSA believes school buses should be as safe as possible, and as such, safety standards for school buses are above and beyond those for regular buses.
School buses are highly visible per design and include safety features such as flashing red lights, cross-view mirrors, and stop-sign arms. They also have protective seating, high crush standards, and rollover protection features.
Laws protect students who are getting off and on a school bus by making it illegal for drivers to pass a school bus while dropping off or picking up passengers, regardless of the direction of approach.
NHTSA decided the best way to provide crash protection to passengers of large school buses is through a concept called “compartmentalization.” Safety standards require that the interior of large buses protect children without them needing to buckle up. Through compartmentalization, children are protected from crashes by strong, closely spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs.
Small school buses (with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less) must be equipped with lap and/or lap/shoulder belts at all designated seating positions. Since the sizes and weights of small school buses are closer to those of passenger cars and trucks, seat belts in those vehicles are necessary to provide occupant protection.
Refer to School Bus Safety | NHTSA for more details.
Still, generic School Bus Interior designs mimic 1990 technology with minimal features targeting ride comfort. School Bus HMI Components and driver controls provide an excellent opportunity for feature improvement coupled with cost & complexity reduction through 2020 Technology Integration.
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