School Bus Fleet, January 2018
20 SCHOOL BUS FLEET JANUARY 2018 WWW SCHOOLBUSFLEET COM COLUMBUS CONFERENCES Vehicle technology is advancing rapidly and the school bus industry needs to keep pace or be left behind That was the thread running through several sessions at the association conferences in Columbus Ohio in early November Discussions covered such forward looking topics as driver assistive technologies autonomous vehicles and electric buses In an eye catching presentation at the National Association for Pupil Transportation NAPT conference officials from Daimler brands demonstrated driver assistive systems that are now available in some cars and trucks and they discussed how the technologies may impact pupil transportation The top factor when considering technology for school buses is whether it Gazing Into the Vehicle automation electric school buses and mobile data terminals are among the forward looking topics on tap at the industry conferences By Thomas McMahonwill improve safety followed by saving money and time Innovation brings safety said Caley Edgerly president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses Thats the first and foremost thing we look for in our industry Mercedes which like Thomas Built is a Daimler brand now offers numerous driver assistive technologies that are designed to increase safety in its S Class and other cars On big screens in the large exhibit hall the conference presentation showed video simulations of those features to illustrate what exactly they do A few examples Active distance assist adjusts the speed of the vehicle to maintain a safe following distance from the vehicle ahead It also applies the brakes automatically if the vehicle ahead is stopping Active steering assist scans the road ahead and to the sides and can steer the vehicle if the driver takes his or her hands off the wheel for a few seconds Attention assist monitors how the driver steers brakes etc If those driving behaviors change in a way that suggests fatigue the car will display a coffee cup icon and will tell the driver to take a break Active speed limit assist and route based speed adjustment detect speed limits and road features such as curves and automatically adjust the speed of the vehicle Active parking assist scans to the sides of the car for parking spots determines whether the car can fit and Left A driver wearing virtual reality goggles in a truck simulator demonstrates such technologies as adaptive cruise control lane departure warnings and active brake assist Right Speaker Raymond Melleady urged pupil transportation leaders to assess how automated and connected vehicle technologies will impact their operations in the years to come
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