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Cody
Top Member
United States
1625 Posts |
 Posted - 05/02/2004 : 11:38:19 AM
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| What was the point of the drivers side emercency door? It was always facing the road so when/if you wanted to open it it whould be in the way of traffic. |
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GMCBlueBird83
Top Member
USA
1477 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 11:48:23 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by thomas built 4 life
What was the point of the drivers side emercency door? It was always facing the road so when/if you wanted to open it it whould be in the way of traffic.
Well, I guess its probably more common for a bus to go off the road and have the passegner's side blocked by something than the driver's side. In a perfect world all buses would have both driver's and passenger's side emergency doors for maximum safety. Usually its only the large capacity buses that do currently. |
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Chris
Top Member
USA
995 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 11:56:13 AM
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| Hi Cody, welcome to the forums! The side emergency door would be used if the bus went over a hill, or off the road. It's just one more escape route incase another is blocked. Some buses have two side doors, left and right, around the back door. Such as this New York TC/2000 http://buscrazy.net/upload/4579.htm |
My Personal Fleet
1985 Ward Ford #1 Lexington Local - 1990 Wayne International NO.2 Walton-Verona - 1992 Ward Senator NO.4 Walton-Verona |
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thomas86_a
Top Member
USA
4373 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 2:04:56 PM
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| I like side emergency doors (even though we don't spec them) although I prefer when they have an aisle next to them with a modesty panel instead of having a flip up seat. |
If you have an International, you NEED customer service. |
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3337 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 3:39:36 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by thomas built 4 life
What was the point of the drivers side emercency door? It was always facing the road so when/if you wanted to open it it whould be in the way of traffic.
I think that, in the event of the bus rolling on its side, it provided an extra out. I've seen pictures of a bus rolled on its side, and it looks like the the main escape used was the emergency door. Now, had the bus rolled on the other side, it wouldn't have done much good. In states that require the emergency door on both sides of the transit-style school buses, though, like California, that wouldn't be a problem. |
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Rich
Top Member
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 4:10:31 PM
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Side emergency doors add a huge amount of safety to the vehicles... my hat goes off to the states the require them. However, one draw-back is that the side emergency doors produce a weak spot on the bus, if hit from the side.
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Cody
Top Member
United States
1625 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 4:23:52 PM
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| Does Blue-Bird still offer them on their buses? |
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NewBee Driver
Senior Member
USA
191 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 4:31:11 PM
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| If they want to sell any buses in Washington state they do. |
Driving Seattle To School - And Loving It!! |
Edited by - NewBee Driver on 05/02/2004 4:31:39 PM |
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3337 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 4:53:51 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by thomas built 4 life
Does Blue-Bird still offer them on their buses?
Yes. |
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92FrdCarp#11
Top Member
USA
1455 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 6:39:51 PM
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| 1 thing about side emergency doors is that if kids sit in the sit with the door next to them, then all that they would have to do is just lift the lever and then the door would come open while the bus is going down the road and then the kid would probably fall out. |
Johnny
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BPS_Driver
Advanced Member
USA
259 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2004 : 1:42:11 PM
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| They could do that with the back door also. Sure the driver wouldn't see the handle if it was a side door operation however if a child wants to open the door they are going to open the door. |
23 Million safe deliveries a day by all of us |
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kd4jfd
Top Member
USA
1051 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2004 : 2:36:52 PM
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| We had these for one year. Decided it was too unsafe. Kids jumped out into traffic. |
539 - Repair work in progress! 349 for sale!SOLD!for sale! |
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Cody
Top Member
United States
1625 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2004 : 2:44:55 PM
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| But instead of having a seat there dont some bus builders have aisles there where the door is? And also do you like the side Emergency doors? |
Edited by - Cody on 05/03/2004 2:55:50 PM |
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B. Busguy33
Top Member
USA
3432 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2004 : 3:00:12 PM
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quote:
But instead of having a seat there dont some bus builders have aisles there where the door is? And also do you like the side Emergency doors?
The company/district spec'ing the bus decides whether they want to have a flip-up seat or just a modesty panel at the side emergency door. Thomas86_a mentioned his preference of not having the flip-up seat in his post above. I agree with him. That way, there are no students sitting next to that door.
I like the side emergency doors. They seem like they would work better than some of the [smaller] push-out windows I've seen. |
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Cody
Top Member
United States
1625 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2004 : 5:37:45 PM
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[quote]
Originally posted by B. Busguy33
The company/district spec'ing the bus decides whether they want to have a flip-up seat or just a modesty panel at the side emergency door. Thomas86_a mentioned his preference of not having the flip-up seat in his post above. I agree with him. That way, there are no students sitting next to that door.
oops i forgot about that sorry about if the quote thing didnt show up i dont really know how to use it yet since im new to the forums
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Edited by - Cody on 05/03/2004 5:38:36 PM |
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92FrdCarp#11
Top Member
USA
1455 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2004 : 5:46:06 PM
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| I also agree with Thomas86_a on the flip up seat. I wouldn't have the flip up seat next to the door. |
Johnny
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thomas86_a
Top Member
USA
4373 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2004 : 7:00:00 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by BPS_Driver
They could do that with the back door also. Sure the driver wouldn't see the handle if it was a side door operation however if a child wants to open the door they are going to open the door.
Yes they could but it seems to me that they are more likely to do it when the door handle is right next to them, plus if they are going to do anything stupid such as jump out of the rear door they have to get up out of their seat where as they don't have to in a side door. At least in the rear there is a chance that the driver will see suspicious behavior before something happens. |
If you have an International, you NEED customer service. |
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78fordwayne
Top Member
USA
2629 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2004 : 4:21:37 PM
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| All of the type c buses that ive seen in Illinois have a door on the side late 94 to early 96. And all of the type D rear engines all years. I can understand the point of having the door on the rear engine buses cause the rear door is to high up to jump out. But on the type Cs i really didnt see much of a point , thats probably why they changed the law after 1 year. |
Robert B.
Last update: 7/1/10
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Thomas00
Top Member
USA
546 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2004 : 8:00:09 PM
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| Well my district is looking into going all transits in the coming few years. I'm helping the fleet manger with the spec. I told my manger I would like to see the transits to have two side emergency door one on the right and left. I think having two side door will it provided an extra out. I see no danger in having a fip seat by these side doors. Cause have them spec on our 95's Carpenter and not seen one case where students jump out into on coming taffic. Thank God! Plus we can't afford to lose capacity on these 84 passengers buses. We need every space on the buses with a large school district like us. |
~Georgia Drivers Together We Fly High~ |
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mattworld22
Active Member
USA
20 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2004 : 9:13:21 PM
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| I don't like the side Emergency Door concept at all. They are not required on either side in the state of Pennyslvania, where I drive. Between the front service door, emergency roof hatches that pop out, emergency windows that open outward throughout the bus and the back door, I feel there are enough sufficient "outs." I don't see enough of a benefit for them to be manditory here in PA and I haven't heard anyone proposing that for our state. The risk of that door accidently opening when leaned on or being purposely opened and a student falling out is too great. Atleast with the back door, if you are driving behind a bus and see that door open and a student about to come out of it, you could slow down and swerve out of the way. With that side door, you'd hit the kid before you knew what happened. |
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Thomasbus24
Top Member
USA
2423 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2004 : 12:00:15 PM
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I can't argue about the left side door opening into traffic, but I will argue about a kid opening the door while going down the road. Notice that the door hinge is always towards the front of the bus.
You can release the latch, but I'd like to challenge somebody to push open that door while the bus is going down the road at 55 MPH! OK..DO NOT do it with kids on board and DO NOT leave your driver seat while the bus is moving in order to try this! |
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thomas86_a
Top Member
USA
4373 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2004 : 1:36:52 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Thomas00
Well my district is looking into going all transits in the coming few years. I'm helping the fleet manger with the spec. I told my manger I would like to see the transits to have two side emergency door one on the right and left. I think having two side door will it provided an extra out. I see no danger in having a fip seat by these side doors. Cause have them spec on our 95's Carpenter and not seen one case where students jump out into on coming taffic. Thank God! Plus we can't afford to lose capacity on these 84 passengers buses. We need every space on the buses with a large school district like us.
Buy 90 passenger ER's, spec no flip seats next to the side doors and you have an 84 passenger bus. |
If you have an International, you NEED customer service. |
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Thomas00
Top Member
USA
546 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2004 : 5:22:09 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by thomas86_a
quote:
Originally posted by Thomas00
Well my district is looking into going all transits in the coming few years. I'm helping the fleet manger with the spec. I told my manger I would like to see the transits to have two side emergency door one on the right and left. I think having two side door will it provided an extra out. I see no danger in having a fip seat by these side doors. Cause have them spec on our 95's Carpenter and not seen one case where students jump out into on coming taffic. Thank God! Plus we can't afford to lose capacity on these 84 passengers buses. We need every space on the buses with a large school district like us.
Buy 90 passenger ER's, spec no flip seats next to the side doors and you have an 84 passenger bus.
Yeah we could use 90 passenger ER, but in cause you haven't notice Thomas is the only one that make 90 passenger ER. So what happen when Blue Bird or IC win the bid? Cause they don't make 90 passenger ER, beside if we buy 90 passenger ER we want all 90 capacity. Like I said before fip seat are fine with me, and I don't think we are putting students lives in danger. If we were than why spec a side doors period? I do see where you coming from though. Just my two cent worth. |
~Georgia Drivers Together We Fly High~ |
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thomas86_a
Top Member
USA
4373 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2004 : 7:25:46 PM
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| Yeah I noticed, if a company can not meet the school districts bid specifications then they are not considered for the bid. This is how it works with any product or service we request bids on. You had just mentioned that you couldn't afford to lose capacity in 84 passenger buses and I gave you a solution. For those who don't want the flip seat it's a good alternative. |
If you have an International, you NEED customer service. |
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baptistbusman
Advanced Member
USA
301 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2004 : 7:30:08 PM
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Also with these side door, they are not directly against the seat. The side of the seat is on the middle of the door. Unless the kid gets up and flips the seat up, only then can they have access to the door.
Plus, like mentioned, there is no way the door can be opened going down the road.
I would say there is just as much of a risk of a kid opening the back emergency door and jumping out. |
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. |
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mzanchelli
Senior Member
95 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2004 : 11:00:49 AM
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last i was on a bus the aisle with the side door had a normal floor mounted seat. in any event, the side door levers activate a buzzer when opened. if a child wants to open a door while the bus is moving, it serves the idiot right if they get hurt when they play with something once they are told it is explicitly for an emergency.
as we have discussed before, side windows are mostly useless - as if you're not going to fall to the ground and injure yourself (potentially) when you are that high off the ground. and if the bus is on the side, they are impossible to climb up to. and at that point you are on the side of a bus with no way down to ground level. besides, alot of todays kids are porkers and its wishful thinking they will fit or pass through a window exit.
roof hatches - best way out. side doors are good for access if the front or one of the sides of the bus are inaccessable. |
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Thomasbus24
Top Member
USA
2423 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2004 : 11:19:23 AM
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I myself like the emergency windows. If I have to choose between burning to death or falling six feet to the road...I think I'm gonna have to go with the six foot fall.
A few years ago I talked to a driver who was in a roll-over crash. Her kids all used the roof hatch to exit the bus as it was easier to open than the rear door, which was hinge-side up. |
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thomasbus91
Senior Member
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2004 : 8:51:01 PM
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| I've noticed that and it never made any sense to me... |
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dmoney127
Advanced Member
USA
253 Posts |
Posted - 10/08/2004 : 9:09:51 PM
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| I'd have to say that there are good points all around. I think they are a must have for RE buses. However, we have some FE's that have both side and rear doors, and I have not once had a problem with some knucklehead opening the door while the bus is moving (or standing still, for that matter!) My kids used to like to play with the window buzzers, though...I don't see any disadvantage to having more exits in the event of an evacuation! |
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SchoolBusFan
Top Member
USA
1755 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2004 : 12:32:11 AM
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| I think having a rear emergency door or exit window (depending if it's a rear or forward engine) side emergency door and window exits is a good combination. If it's a roll-over, use the windows/roof hatches, a crash use the doors or whatever expedites the evacuation in both types mentioned. The side emergency door is an extra safety feature in an accident. What kind of kid would jump out the side emergency door??!! If that's a problem, have a more responsible student sit there, or don't even order it. Then the rear emergency door on buses with the engine in the front (types a-c & forward d's) should also be a problem. Another solution, no seat where the side emergency door is and no last row of seats in the back of the forward engine buses. I don't see how kids would jump out the side door of a school bus, I would think it's common sense to them. I doubt the side emergency door option will go away. It makes the bus safer and keeps the bus capacity which school districts/companies need these days since they don't make much money to pay drivers and buy buses. Taking out the flip seat would take 3 students per bench off one bus; times that by how many flip seats go, and it might end up being one extra bus to buy if you have a large fleet. I don't see the problem. |
Edited by - SchoolBusFan on 10/09/2004 12:37:22 AM |
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baumannj
Senior Member
USA
73 Posts |
Posted - 10/09/2004 : 1:06:26 PM
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| It's interesting that 2 people in this topic (78fordwayne and Thomas00) mentioned seeing 1995-ish buses with left-side emergency doors, because the same is true for buses here in Texas, too. All of the rear-engine buses in our district, of course, have left-side emergency doors regardless of the model year. But the only front-engine buses equipped with left-side doors are our 1995 Wayne Lifestars (the only buses our district purchased in 1995). A neighboring district that is contracted with Durham Transporation has left-side doors on their 1995 Thomas/International conventionals, and another nearby distric has a whole bunch of 1995 Carpenter/International conventionals with left-side doors. Except for the '95s, you never see left-side doors on Texas buses unless it's a rear-engine bus. Was there a change in the national school bus specifications that required left-side doors on all 1995 model year buses??? |
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gonzosbus
Senior Member
USA
142 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 10:38:15 AM
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We have had this discussion before about this subject. ALso there was a change in Federal Specs during the 90's. It had to do with emergency egress and the number of square inches needed for emergency exits. This was all part of the results of the Carrollton Kentucky bus Crash. Therefore manufacturers came up with many ideas and most just added a emergency door exit. This only lasted about a year of so until someone came up with a different formula that included Emergency windows and Roof hatches. Alot of the commotion about an additional door had to do with possible weakening of the bus body. Lots of stuff and i really dont remember the exact wording of it all. If I am wrong on any of this please corrct me. All of the buses I spec include the left and right emergency door exits on 72 or 84 transit buses.
Thanks, Armando Cuellar, Madison Elem. SD #38, Phoenix Arizona. |
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Tmac0384
Advanced Member
USA
375 Posts |
Posted - 10/15/2004 : 5:00:53 PM
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| i've never really understood those side emergency doors either, but the way i see it. it's a good thing... in case in the event of all the other exits somehow not being able to be used, there would be that door to use to get to safety if/when needed. |
sometimes older is way better than new.
some photos of mine: http://community.webshots.com/user/Bus213
(it's a work in progress... tons of photos to come!) |
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Side Emergency door
