A study of students’ use of restraint systems in school transportation services in primary and secondary schools in northern Iran: an observational study

Background Traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death and severe injury among child occupants of vehicles in most countries. This has led to the consideration of how to use restraint systems for students in school buses. The purpose of the present study was to determine the percentage of students’ use of restraint systems in school transportation services in 2020. Methods In the present cross-sectional observational study, seatbelt use was assessed in 400 students in school transport vehicles using a checklist. The observation team sat at their vehicle, at the nearest location on one of the three sides of the school’s entrance: they had by manually registering the variable in the checklist. They focused on exactly the first vehicle parked next to the school entrance. There were two other observers to validate the observations. Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 21). Results The rate of using restraint systems was 11.3%, use of restraint systems in the Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) was significantly higher (P < 0.03), in areas with medium income (P < 0.009) and low income (p < 0.012) as well as when the students were sitting in the rear seats, using the seatbelt were significantly lower (P < 0.001). Seatbelt use in students was less in services driven by drivers over the age of 40 (P < 0.01) and more in vehicles driven by female drivers (P < 0.003) and newer vehicles (p < 0.001). Conclusion School authorities must enforce traffic safety rules for school transportation services. These rules should be taught to drivers, families, and students. A restraint system must be mandatory for all students. School officials must equip their buses with seatbelts and employ school bus assistants to encourage wearing seatbelts and prevent students from standing.

FEATURES OF ENSURING THE SAFETY OF TRANSPORTING CHILDREN TO SCHOOL AND BACK BY SPECIALLY DESIGNED VEHICLES (SCHOOL BUSES) IN CANADA

В статье рассмотрен зарубежный опыт обеспечения безопасности перевозок детей в школу и обратно специально предназначенными для этого транспортными средствами (школьными автобусами) на примере Канады. The article discusses the foreign experience of ensuring the safety of transportation of children to and from school with specially designed vehicles (school buses) on the example of Canada.

A Case Study into the Environmental Context of Walking School Buses and Other Modes of Travel Used for the Journey to School

<p><b>The journey to school involves a number of different modes of travel. Approximatelyhalf of all journeys to school in New Zealand rely on the use of an automobile. Thisheavy dependence on automobiles involves a number of environmental detractions.</b></p> <p>Walking School Buses provide an alternative to cars as a mode of travel for thejourney to school. This mode of travel compares favourably in a number of respectswhen compared to other modes of travel and is generating considerable interest.</p> <p>Based on a case study involving in-depth interviews with ten caregivers this papercompares whether and how Walking School Buses emerged from a different socialand cultural background when compared to other modes of travel. Four keyinfluences, in particular parenting culture, the work commitments that caregivershave, the risks posed by strangers and traffic, and the social fragmentation ofneighbourhoods were found to be significant in shaping the journey to school. Basedon finding a number of similarities between different modes of travel to school it isconcluded that the journey to school is embedded in a wider system of social andcultural ideas that shape Walking School Buses and other modes of travel alike.</p>

A Case Study into the Environmental Context of Walking School Buses and Other Modes of Travel Used for the Journey to School

<p><b>The journey to school involves a number of different modes of travel. Approximatelyhalf of all journeys to school in New Zealand rely on the use of an automobile. Thisheavy dependence on automobiles involves a number of environmental detractions.</b></p> <p>Walking School Buses provide an alternative to cars as a mode of travel for thejourney to school. This mode of travel compares favourably in a number of respectswhen compared to other modes of travel and is generating considerable interest.</p> <p>Based on a case study involving in-depth interviews with ten caregivers this papercompares whether and how Walking School Buses emerged from a different socialand cultural background when compared to other modes of travel. Four keyinfluences, in particular parenting culture, the work commitments that caregivershave, the risks posed by strangers and traffic, and the social fragmentation ofneighbourhoods were found to be significant in shaping the journey to school. Basedon finding a number of similarities between different modes of travel to school it isconcluded that the journey to school is embedded in a wider system of social andcultural ideas that shape Walking School Buses and other modes of travel alike.</p>

Investigating the impact of Innovative Treatments on Driving Behavior at School Bus Stops: A Driving Simulator Study

The illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses has been identified as one of the leading causes of students’ injuries and fatalities. The likelihood of students in getting involved in a school bus-related crash increases during loading/unloading. The main objective of this driving simulator study was to study the effectiveness of different treatments in improving students’ safety by reducing the illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses. Treatments used in this research are LED, Road Narrowing and Red Pavement. All proposed treatments were compared with the control condition (i.e., typical condition in the State of Qatar). Seventy-two subjects with valid Qatari driving license were invited to participate in this study. Each subject was exposed to three situations (i.e., Situation 1: the school bus is stopped in the same traveling direction, Situation 2: the school bus is stopped in the opposite traveling direction, Situation 3: the school bus is not present at the bus stop). Results showed that LED and Road Narrowing treatments were effective in reducing the illegal overtaking/crossing of stopped school buses. Moreover, the stopping behavior for drivers in LED and Road Narrowing was more consistent compared to the Red Pavement and control conditions. Finally, LED and Road Narrowing treatments motivated drivers to reduce their traveling speed by 5.16 km/h and 5.11 km/h, respectively, even with the absence of the school bus. Taking into account the results from this study, we recommend the proposed LED and Road Narrowing as potentially effective treatments to improve students’ safety at school bus stop locations.

A Simplified and High Accuracy Algorithm of RSSI-Based Localization Zoning for Children Tracking In-Out the School Buses Using Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon

To avoid problems related to a school bus service such as kidnapping, children being left in a bus for hours leading to fatality, etc., it is important to have a reliable transportation service to ensure students’ safety along journeys. This research presents a high accuracy child monitoring system for locating students if they are inside or outside a school bus using the Internet of Things (IoT) via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) which is suitable for a signal strength indication (RSSI) algorithm. The in/out-bus child tracking system alerts a driver to determine if there is a child left on the bus or not. Distance between devices is analyzed for decision making to affiliate the zone of the current children’s position. A simplified and high accuracy machine learning of least mean square (LMS) algorithm is used in this research with model-based RSSI localization techniques. The distance is calculated with the grid size of 0.5 m × 0.5 m similar in size to an actual seat of a school bus using two zones (inside or outside a school bus). The averaged signal strength is proposed for this research, rather than using the raw value of the signal strength in typical works, providing a robust position-tracking system with high accuracy while maintaining the simplicity of the classical trilateration method leading to precise classification of each student from each zone. The test was performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed tracking strategy which precisely shows the positions of each student. The proposed method, therefore, can be applied for future autopilot school buses where students’ home locations can be securely stored in the system used for references to transport each student to their homes without a driver.