Transportation Management Software, bus scheduling software, school bus scheduling software, school bus management software
Every school bus has areas around it where A) students are out of view of the driver, and B) have a higher likelihood of being hit by the bus, or by other cars. These "danger zones" are one of the biggest threats to student safety on your bus routes, and must be taken seriously!
Fortunately, your drivers don't have to do it all by themselves. Modern technology can significantly reduce the risk in danger zones, when properly implemented. These are some of your best options.
Minimizing Danger In The "Danger Zone"
1 - Side Mounted 'Blind Spot' Cameras
It's now relatively easy to mount cameras on the sides or front of your bus, which send their picture to a screen in the driver's view. This can mostly or totally eliminate blind spots, allowing your drivers to keep an eye on students even when they'd normally be hidden.
However, students should still be taught to maintain visual contact with the driver whenever possible, for added safety.
2 - More / Better Lighting
Another significant risk in the danger zones is that another car might ignore the bus's stop arm and pass the bus while children are moving around it. Stop arm cameras can catch offenders after the fact, but you really want to prevent illegal passing, to maximize student safety.
One of the best options here is simply to put more lights on the bus. Experiments have shown that a lot of illegal passing is due to other drivers simply not noticing the bus's stop arm until it's too late. Extra lights makes it more likely they'll see the bus stopping.
3 - Predictive Stop Arms
That said, stop arms are improving as well. The newest models include radar and/or lidar systems along with AI processing. They proactively scan for cars that seem likely to run the stop arm, and can potentially give enough warning to keep students out of their way.
4 - Improved Routing
Don't make your students cross the street to reach their destination! This is inherently dangerous and increases the risk of them being struck by other cars. Modern bus routing software can create optimized routes where the bus is always arriving with the stop on the right, preventing this problem entirely.
BusBoss is focused on helping you safely deliver your precious cargo! If you're looking for new options in improving student safety on your buses, contact us for ideas.
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PRESIDENT
Sonia has been involved with BusBoss since the late 1990’s, and has personally overseen many projects for various customers ranging from large urban and suburban districts to smaller rural school districts from all over the country. In all cases, her primary goal was to improve their transportation operations by reducing their operating expenses while simultaneously improving student safety and parent satisfaction.
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