re: Buses in India: Lack of Emergency Exits, a recipe for disaster? Quote:
Originally Posted by julupani Even with an emergency door, you cannot skip on emergency windows. Just like a frontal collision blocks the front doors, if the bus rolls over to one side, the door can become blocked. In fact, a roll after a frontal collision may mean both doors are blocked.
I think the major issue regarding safety of these buses is not the machine, but the men who operate them. And not just drivers, owners too have to share the blame. |
+1 to the above - it is the whole ecosystem which is to be blamed - owners (for compromising on safety when ordering the buses), manufacturers (for succumbing to the demands of the money minded owners), drivers (for abusing the machines without regard to the road conditions in India and for lack of knowledge on how to tackle emergencies) and importantly, the RTOs and regulators who allow registration of these buses and allow them to ply well aware of the safety issues ! Quote:
Originally Posted by Mpower A very close call indeed.
If a fire had started inside the bus, then there would've been many fatalities....like we have seen in the recent car-fire incidents.
Its high time the ARAI get involved in these matters and enforce safety regulations. |
Exactly my point - high time regulators do something and for once, implement them ! Quote:
Originally Posted by binaiks SRS B9Rs do not have a driver door. Not only SRS, but a lot of operators save on that money too by avoiding having a driver door. KaSRTC, VRL, Kallada (suresh), National are few notable operators who retain the driver door in their buses - so incase of a frontal crash, you have an additional door to your rescue. The driver door doesn't get jammed that quickly because of its design. Even in case of a frontal impact, the doors can be opened - I am not sure of the exact switch to use, but its possible. | Quote:
Originally Posted by P4life As per ECR regulations, the Doors of a Bus/Truck should be open able from outside of the vehicle without considerable effort. Also in some European countries, its mandatory to have a middle door on the side other that the driver side, similar to the ones on the Volvo B11R trial bus. Its is however sad that majority of Indian operators (other than Kasrtc B9r's) opt for the middle door and not even the driver side door, to save money. |
Wow, dint realize / observe that most of these Volvos dont even have a driver door ! Thanks for pointing it out. Quote:
Originally Posted by binaiks Actually, if you are targetting the correct glass, all you need to do is kick the glass or hit it with baggage. The emergency exit windows are the second from the front and second from the back. Like in aircrafts, its important to play a safety video in these buses too. | Quote:
Originally Posted by julupani But there is an issue with the emergency windows. Volvo does provide a special glass breaking hammer which is generally placed right beside the emergency window. This is a special hammer with an extremely sharp point, which can shatter the glass with one hit. But I have seen this hammer missing from its holder many a times. | Quote:
Originally Posted by pratyush6 Honestly, I have never thought of opening the emergency window and I have never been in a situation. But breaking the window should not be that big a problem.
As pointed out, in case of a roll-over the doors will get jammed. I wonder the emergency windows are on both the sides of a bus (left & right)? And yes, I have seen in a lot many buses that "hammer" thing missing. |
Yes, the hammer was missing from the front emergency window and had to be fetched from the rear. trust me, the window did not break easily. Maybe it was poor technique due to lack of awareness on the most effective way to break it, but it did take ~10 mins of hammer time to break it ! Quote:
Originally Posted by rjstyles69 Why add only VOLVO's to the list ? None of the regular buses have a conventional emergency exit. From what I have seen, most of these buses have " Emergency Exit" stickered on the rear windshield . I dont understand how the RTO approves of such buses where there is zilch concern for safety in case of an accident. Take a look at this bus
In case of an emergency, I wonder how people are expected to disembark from that height and it gets even worse when they have 2 ladders at the back. | Quote:
Originally Posted by libranof1987 A very valid point.
I guess only a fraction of the Volvos were retrofitted.
There are hundreds of private Volvos which lack the emergency doors as well.
This issue needs a very resolved approach from authorities and operators; unless there's regulation, I doubt anyone's going to budge. |
+1 to the above Quote:
Originally Posted by julupani The side emergency exits in Volvos are about 5-5.5feet off the ground. I think it is a reasonable height from where most people will be able to jump from. The small percentage who will find it difficult can easily be helped by other people. Remember, this is an "emergency exit", where comfort is not a priority at all. The idea is to be able to get out.
Long distance Volvo's have roof top emergency exits too, though I cant seem to remember if its one or two in number. But I guess the roof top exit will only be useful if the bus is on its side, rather than standing up. | Quote:
Originally Posted by pratyush6 Those emergency exits at the back are dangerous. What if someone falls from that? The drop would be about 10 feet (?). How are women, children and elderly expected to behave? The ladder should ideally be long enough (the gap between the ground and the ladder IMO should not be more than 2-3 feet).
But in general, my feel is that travelling in a bus is much more safer than your car. | Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashley2 |
Was not aware of the exit on the roof on long distance buses. Have seen this on the BMTC City Volvos.
You are correct - the windows are ~5 feet high. But with a ladder and people assisting, most passengers with the exception of senior citizens / elderly folks can get off without too much of an issue. |