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Crashworthiness of buses : Analysis of European data and suggestions for improvement

Our study shows that current structural designs of bus fronts provide insufficient collision protection for drivers, that crash design requirements in UN Regulation R29.03 are insufficient, and that there is a need for an improved bus front structure. Our estimates show that the energy level in three recent Norwegian low-speed bus collisions were 10 times higher than the energy tolerance level required by R29.03. We suggest a new model for providing bus drivers with sufficient structural protection in case of collisions with frontal impact. Extrapolations indicate that 963 bus drivers in Europe have been killed or severely injured (KSI) in accidents with frontal impact in the last ten years. Although our cost-benefit analyses indicate that the economic costs of the suggested solution are higher than the expected economic benefits, we argue from a Vision Zero/Safe System perspective and a work environment perspective, that bus drivers should have the same protection in collisions as car and truck drivers. Our solution also aims to provide better protection for light vehicles which are in collisions with buses. These comprise 22% of the KSIs in bus accidents.