Bus collides with child
Danger of the blind spot
Sequence of events:
Coming from the direction of a school, the driver of a school bus wanted to turn right. An 11-yearold boy was riding his bicycle in the same direction on the , which he would no have been allowed to do. Both parties collided during the turn. The boy bounced against the front entrance area of the bus and then fell from his bicycle onto the road.
Coming from the direction of a school, the driver of a school bus wanted to turn right. An 11-yearold boy was riding his bicycle in the same direction on the , which he would no have been allowed to do. Both parties collided during the turn. The boy bounced against the front entrance area of the bus and then fell from his bicycle onto the road.
Persons involved in the accident:
School bus driver and boy on bicycle
Consequences/injuries:
The boy was injured seriously when he collided with the school bus.
Cause/problem:
Because both parties were traveling at almost the same speed and the bus was shearing out before turning, the boy and his bicycle were in the bus driver’s blind spot for a longer period of time.
Because both parties were traveling at almost the same speed and the bus was shearing out before turning, the boy and his bicycle were in the bus driver’s blind spot for a longer period of time.
Avoidance measures, mitigation of consequences / strategy for road safety measures:
Even a turning assistant could not have prevented this accident. Current specifications from Geneva require a lateral sensor range of 4 meters. The warning from the system would have been too late. The boy was not within this range until just before the bus sheared out. Even more careful and slower turn could not have prevented the accident. The cyclist could have prevented the accident by braking when detecting the danger.