EVALUATION OF OCCUPANT PROTECTION IN BUSES

This report describes the results of a review of bus occupant protection research and regulatory practices in Canada, the United States, Australia and Europe. The focus of the study is on occupant safety in intercity buses and issues for future consideration. An intercity bus is categorized as follow: seating capacity of 25 or more; GVWR of 5,000 kg or more; provides intercity, charter or tour services; no standing passengers; dedicated underfloor storage capacity. Available data confirm that bus travel is one of the safest modes of transport in North America, Australia and Europe. When a bus collision does occur, however, it generally receives considerable media attention and public focus. For this reason, discussions continue on ways to improve bus occupant safety. The key findings of this review are: (1) There is no common definition for different types of buses. (2) There is little harmony or detail in the classification of bus types in collision data. (3) Rollovers and ejections are the major causes of serious and fatal injuries to bus occupants. (4) Lap belts are not the preferred manner of restraint. (5) Lap/torso seat belts are effective in preventing injuries and ejections. (6) Retentive glazing may also reduce the risk of ejections. (7) Retrofitting of seat belts is difficult and costly when the floor structure is not strong enough to take the loads. (8) Bus seats with integral seat belts are available without weight penalty. (9) Regulations in Australia and Europe regarding the strength of the bus superstructure, seat attachments and seat belts generally reflect real world collision data.

• Record URL:
  http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/tp/tp14006/pdf/tp14006e.pdf
• 
• Corporate Authors:

  RONA Kinetics and Associates Limited

  North Vancouver, BC,   Canada 

  Transport Canada

  330 Sparks Street, Tower C, 8th Floor
  Ottawa, Ontario  Canada  K1A 0N5
• Publication Date: 2002-6-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 138 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus crashes; Buses; Classification; Crash data; Ejection; Fatalities; Glazing; Injuries; Intercity bus lines; Occupant protection devices; Regulations; Retrofitting; Reviews; Rollover crashes; Seat belts; Seats; Traffic safety
• Geographic Terms: Australia; Canada; Europe; United States
• Subject Areas: Law; Public Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00960486
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: TP 14006E,, HS-043 625
• Contract Numbers: T8080-01-1214
• Files: HSL, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 23 2004 12:00AM