Event

Abstract:

To meet their ambition for no-one to be killed or seriously injured on, or by, a bus by 2041, Transport for London (TfL) developed and implemented the Bus Safety Standard (BSS) to enhance the safety of both passengers and other road users. TRL were commissioned by TfL to deliver research and industry engagement in order to specify the requirements for a package of 24 safety features and vehicle technologies for new buses entering the London bus fleet. This presentation will introduce the BSS, before taking the audience through the research that underpinned the requirements for three key safety measures that will influence future passenger and pedestrian safety – occupant interior protection, automated emergency braking (AEB), and pedestrian impact protection. We will discuss bus occupant injury mechanisms and risks, AEB and its interaction with bus occupant injury, and our estimates of the head injury risks associated with pedestrian impacts with the bus front end. We will also give insights as to the bus vehicle specifications implemented and comment on how these have been developed to mitigate risk and improve future outcomes.

Biog 1 – Dr Phil Martin:

Dr Phil Martin is Head of Transport Safety at TRL. Focusing on evidence-led research and consultancy, Phil has led a portfolio of over 40 public and private sector funded projects that advise on policy, develop regulations and standards and demonstrate, monitor and evaluate the impacts of road and vehicle safety policies and innovations across the Safe System pillars. Phil is currently the Programme Lead for TRL projects supporting the implementation and future development of the TfL BSS scheme and was the lead researcher for multiple Work Packages during the initial development of the BSS.

Biog 2 – Dr Mervyn Edwards:

Dr Mervyn Edwards is a technical expert and practice lead in vehicle safety and technology at TRL. His core expertise is road vehicle safety, but he has worked and led projects in numerous related areas from rail to equestrian. Over the 27 years he has been at TRL, his expertise has grown in line with the evolution of vehicle safety technology, starting with passive safety, progressing to ADAS, and now automated vehicles. He has been involved with the Transport for London (TfL) Bus Safety Standard since its inception and has led the development of a number of the measures within it, some of which he will speak about today.