School Bus Safety Inside

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside
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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Howard Mac Dashney
• Executive Director
• MAPT
• 517.886.0881 (T)
• 517.886.0882 (F)
• mdashney_at_mapt.org

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• What is happening today?
• Nationally
• 440,000 school buses transporting
• 23,500,000 students a total of
• 47,000,000 daily rides
• Michigan
• 18,000 school buses transporting
• 860,000 students a total of
• 1,720,000 daily rides

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• What can be expected this year?
• Nationally
• 7.9 Billion rides covering
• 4.3 Billion miles
• Michigan
• 309,600,000 annual rides covering
• 167,184,000 miles

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Fatalities 1990 2000
• 1,450 School bus-related fatalities
• 969 (67) Occupants of other vehicles
• 35 (2) Other non-occupants
• 322 (22) Outside school bus
• 74 (5) Struck by other vehicles
• 248 (17) Struck by school bus
• 124 (9) Inside school bus
• 90 (6) School bus passengers
• 34 (2) School bus drivers
• School bus occupants vs School bus pedestrians
• 446 inside and outside school bus
• 322 (72) outside of school bus
• 124 (27) inside of school bus
• DOT, NHTSA, NCSA, Traffic Safety Facts 2000
  School Buses,

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Probabilities Chances of Fatal Injuries
• Nationally
• 3.6 Times more likely to be fatally injured while
  walking to/from school bus than while riding
  inside a school bus.
• 1/250,000,000 chance outside bus
• 1/700,000,000 chance inside bus
• Michigan
• No fatality inside a bus since Spring 1989.
• Annually average 3 fatalities outside school bus.
• 1/100,000,000 chance outside bus

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Why should you expect this performance?
• Size
• Mass
• Design

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Size
• Width 96 (8 feet)
• Length 16 to 40
• Height 9 to 106
• Ground clearance 24 to body panel
• Ground clearance 12 to entrance door
• Ground to floor 44 (38)
• Ground to seat cushion 63 (53)
• Seat back height 24 27
• Inside aisle width 12
• Passenger capacity 11 90

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Mass
• 10,000 lbs (5 tons) to 40,000 lbs (20 tons)
• Comparison of vehicles
• Car Van Truck
• 5 wide 6 wide 8 wide
• 12 long 16 long 20-65 long
• 3,200 lbs 4,800 lbs 7,500-120,000 lbs
• 5 high 7 high 13 high
• 91 RV 4 RV 1.4 RV

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Design
• Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)
  specific for school buses
• FMVSS 111 Rearview Mirrors
• FMVSS 121 Air Brake System ABS
• FMVSS 131 School Bus Pedestrian Safety Device
• FMVSS 210 Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages
• FMVSS 213 Child Restraint Systems
• FMVSS 217 Bus Emergency Exits, Window Retention,
  and Release
• FMVSS 220 School Bus Rollover Protection
• FMVSS 221 School Bus Body Joint Strength
• FMVSS 222 School Bus Seating Crash Protection
• FMVSS 301 Fuel System Integrity
• FMVSS 302 Flammability of Interior Materials

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Design
• Features
• Alternating Overhead Red Flashing Lights (4 light
  and 8 light systems)
• Stop arms, lighted 8 sided signs - STOP
• Crossing bars, 6-8 bar for peds to/from bus
• Single right front entrance door
• Emergency exits rear/side doors, side and rear
  window exits, roof hatches
• Fuel tank caged and baffled and honey combed
• Emergency Equipment First Aid Kit, Flares, Fire
  Extinguisher, Reflective Triangles

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• Our Worst Nightmare!
• Erie Township
• Truck hauling 120,000 lbs of steel hits bus
  carrying 61 children and adults

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• Third of four school buses turning left pulls in
  front of steeling hauling truck going straight at
  this intersection.

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Safety Standards and Features prevent fatalities
• 48 passengers injured

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Truck crashes into drivers side at the rear
  axle.
• Penetrates 2-4 into school bus.
• Body joint, roof strength, seat
  compartmentalization protects passengers.
• Bus Truck respond as designed

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Child at point of impact ejected due to side
  emergency door opening tearing body survives!
• Occupants compartment withstands penetration by
  truck
• Bodies of bus truck separate to reduce force of
  impact and penetration.

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School Bus SafetyInside Outside

• Summary
• High Profile Vehicle
• Frequency Opportunity _at_ Risk
• Size, Mass, Design
• Low Probability Catastrophic Events
• Focus on problem 3.6 times more dangerous
  outside than inside bus
• Random operation vs planned sequence