A New Structural Performance Standard for School Bus Bodies

A comprehensive structural performance standard for school bus superstructures is being developed by a special task force on school bus safety organized by the School Bus Manufacturers Institute. This paper presents a progress report on the standard. Included is a review of the main features: the basic philosophy that the bus body must be capable of safe, controlled energy absorption in the event of a crash; the establishment of a statically equivalent test through the use of energy absorption as a simulation parameter; and detailed specifications for simulated crash modes. As a specific example, the rollover simulation test specification is presented in its entirety and a critical assessment is provided.