Technology can Improve Safety at Bus Stops, Explains Brigade Electronics

Bus travel has never been more popular, with millions of passengers worldwide choosing this mode of public transport to travel to and from work and school. In the US, 751 million passenger trips are made annually by bus and coach, the most common mode of transport for travel in town, cities and urban areas.

     (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/776226/Brigade_Backeye360.jpg )

Although bus travel is a relatively safe way to travel - particularly when compared to driving and cycling - many accidents do happen. In 2015, there were 257 bus-related fatalities nationwide. Around 140 children die from a bus-related accident each year.

One area causing concern is safety at bus stops, where buses frequently stop to allow passengers to board and alight, often in congested urban areas.

A U.S research article, produced by the IATSS (International Association of Traffic and Safety Services), identified crossing the road after alighting from a bus as one of the main causes for injury and fatalities among school children.

Tackling blind spots 

Driving a bus presents a difficult set of challenges. As well as distractions from passengers, drivers have to pull up to and exit bus stops safely, manoeuvring in close proximity to other vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians. Drivers must also keep abreast of what is happening on board the bus as well as making sure their service is running on time.

Blind spot cameras and sensor systems can be an invaluable support for drivers, helping them to monitor what's happening around their vehicle, as well as inside the bus itself.

Brigade Electronics' best-selling Backeye®360 , for example, allows drivers to keep a close eye on blind spots at the back and sides of their buses so they can instantly see vehicles, cyclists or pedestrians in the road. 

This intelligent four-camera technology is designed to eliminate vehicle blind spots and assist low-speed manoeuvrability by providing the driver with a complete 360 degrees view of their vehicle in a single image.

The system combines images from four ultra-wide angle cameras, providing a real-time 360 degrees view in a single image on the driver's monitor. The result is a 'bird's-eye-view' of the vehicle and surrounding area. This is essential for bus drivers when stopping at bus stops frequently, especially in urban areas, and helps reduce the risk of collisions with people and objects, and to avoid damage to the vehicle itself.

Other technology that can help bus operators keep their passengers safe includes ultrasonic proximity sensors, which alert the driver of obstacles close to the vehicle, whether moving or stationary.

Brigade's Ultrasonic Obstacle Detection provides an audible and/or visual warning, informing the driver of the distance between their vehicle and a pedestrian or other road user.

Back up warning alarms, meanwhile, should be a basic safety measure on buses to alert pedestrians, cyclists and other road users that a bus is manoeuvring backwards.

Brigade has harnessed the latest technology to provide high-spec multi-frequency broadband sound in its reversing alarms, creating a 'ssh-ssh' sound, which is gentle on the ear and can only be heard in the danger zone. Unlike traditional 'beep beep' alarms, these White Sound® alarms eliminate noise nuisance typically encountered in a busy urban environment where buses operate.