5 ms·

Can you share evidence they aren’t better? School buses typically have a large nose in front of the driver. Are they unsafe?

oblio 5y ago
I can't really share any studies, but some people seem to have more info: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30195371 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30195371 Intuitively it would make sense that being able to see in front of you with no obstruction would have an impact on safety. How much, I can't say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ > School buses typically have a large nose in front of the driver. Are they unsafe? Guess what, European buses don't have a nose, either :-)))
stefan_ 5y ago
Those hunking blocks of sheet-metal in the US that you call school buses (alternatively, prisoner transport)? Well, yeah. European buses share much with their truck counterparts, except the massively better visibility all around: https://www.mercedes-benz-bus.com/content/dam/mbo/markets/common/brand/omnibus-magazin/ecitaro-on-the-road/images/content/om19-content-ecitaro-on-the-road-1680x945-001.jpg https://www.mercedes-benz-bus.com/content/dam/mbo/markets/co...
frosted-flakes 5y ago
Some school buses have a large nose, but many school buses are rear-engined and have flat fronts.
zardo 5y ago
School busses have a regulatory carve out for pollution controls and seat belts. School busses are most dangerous new built passenger vehicles allowed on the road in the US with more than three wheels.
- Aloha 5y ago
  Yet fatal accidents involving school buses are vanishingly rare.
  - jandrese 5y ago
    School busses only rarely get on the highway, most collisions happen on low speed secondary roads, which are rarely fatal. Plus the sheer mass of the bus means it doesn't get thrown around as much as a car would in an accident.
  - zardo 5y ago
    They do have higher standards for the drivers
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      The standards are basically the same as for a commercial truck driver. The edge cases of what they're willing to accept are slightly different.
- fomine3 5y ago
  How dangerous?

oblio 5y ago

I can't really share any studies, but some people seem to have more info: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30195371 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30195371 Intuitively it would make sense that being able to see in front of you with no obstruction would have an impact on safety. How much, I can't say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ > School buses typically have a large nose in front of the driver. Are they unsafe? Guess what, European buses don't have a nose, either :-)))

stefan_ 5y ago

Those hunking blocks of sheet-metal in the US that you call school buses (alternatively, prisoner transport)? Well, yeah. European buses share much with their truck counterparts, except the massively better visibility all around: https://www.mercedes-benz-bus.com/content/dam/mbo/markets/common/brand/omnibus-magazin/ecitaro-on-the-road/images/content/om19-content-ecitaro-on-the-road-1680x945-001.jpg https://www.mercedes-benz-bus.com/content/dam/mbo/markets/co...

frosted-flakes 5y ago

Some school buses have a large nose, but many school buses are rear-engined and have flat fronts.

zardo 5y ago

School busses have a regulatory carve out for pollution controls and seat belts. School busses are most dangerous new built passenger vehicles allowed on the road in the US with more than three wheels.

Aloha 5y ago
Yet fatal accidents involving school buses are vanishingly rare.
- jandrese 5y ago
  School busses only rarely get on the highway, most collisions happen on low speed secondary roads, which are rarely fatal. Plus the sheer mass of the bus means it doesn't get thrown around as much as a car would in an accident.
- zardo 5y ago
  They do have higher standards for the drivers
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    The standards are basically the same as for a commercial truck driver. The edge cases of what they're willing to accept are slightly different.
fomine3 5y ago
How dangerous?