Thomas Built Buses, in partnership with MITO Corporation and CUB Group, has developed the Saf-T-Zone pedestrian detection technology to address recent concerns of pedestrian accidents outside of the school bus.
It’s a fact that most accidents that involve a school bus happen outside the bus when children run into the road, walk too close to the bus or kneel down to get something that has fallen under the bus. As careful as bus drivers may be, sometimes they just can’t see a child in certain areas outside the bus. The Saf-T-Zone pedestrian detection system helps drivers avoid unnecessary pedestrian accidents in the front, back and right side of our buses, even within blind spots.
Saf-T-Zone is comprised of LED ground lights on the cross-view mirrors as well as multiple radar units on the 77GHz frequency band, which will be installed around a Thomas Built bus. These higher frequency radars, which are used for autonomous vehicles and high-resolution meteorological observations, allow more precise detection and measurement of a pedestrian or object within ten feet of the front, back or right side of the school bus – the entire traditional danger zone is visible. When a pedestrian is detected, the system will alert the driver on an in-cabin tablet as well as through caution lights on the cross-view mirrors, haptics in the seat and an audible alarm.
Saf-T-Zone is an available option on the Saf-T-Liner® C2.
To learn more about Saf-T-Zone on Thomas Built Buses, contact your local Thomas Built dealer.
