Australasian Bus & Coach - May 2018

(C. Jardin) #1

(^6) ABC May 2018 busnews.com.au
IGNITION FABIAN COTTER
Ageofinnovation
N
OW THIS IS EXACTLY what I’m
talking about...
It’s 3.00AM in the morning,
the magazine’s on deadline,
I’m already sleep deprived this week
to get the issue out the door with the
team, and this here editorial is the last
thing I have to write.
At the time you are reading this
(assuming anyone actually reads
magazine editorials these days; I know I
don’t) you are probably wondering why
on Earth the Setra TopClass 500 S 531
DT double-decker is on the cover of your
favourite monthly tome, Australasian
Bus & Coach (ABC) magazine. That’s us,
by the way. Just in case. ;)
A model from a brand that probably
won’t reach our shores, nor get
anywhere near mass public transit use
locally even if it did – unless there’s
the highly improbable chance that
regulations change.
Well firstly, the pics – which I’m sure
you’ll agree are awesome – were free
(Hey, I’m being brutally honest here
with you all. Much love). But seriously
folks, as our coverstory on pages 24-
this issue goes some way to explain, its
landmark safety capabilities steal the
show from its stunning looks, comfort
and style. But only just...
Not only does it, or something
like it, play a key role in maximising
and expanding upon increasing
year-on-year Australasian tourism
statistics, but it illustrates the evolution
of certain potentially life-saving and
injury-avoiding safety technologies that
is hard to ignore should be on every bus
or coach, in my humble opinion.
Its ability to warn drivers of
impending collision in front – or to its
side – with another vehicle or hapless
human via a series of incrementally
urgent flashes of lights and beeps and
whistles etc., is underwritten by one
crucial talent: to ultimately employ the
brakes itself in the event the driver fails
to do so.
It is a remarkable capability and,
encouragingly for the longevity of the
role of a bus driver (let’s address that
elephant in the room now) – and I mean
someone actually steering a bus and
not just sitting back on an autonomous
one who may well just end up spending
most of their time playing Tic-Tac-Toe
or making coffees for passengers 30
years from now – it credibly prolongs
the viability of their jobs in the global
bus industry for decades. What’s on
this latest Setra is like having a second
pair of eyes, a sixth sense, and/or is a
wingman for the driver. A night out on
the town with him, he’s got your back!
With the mag virtually at the printers,
I have to admit in my near-catatonic
state I did start to think maybe my
paranoia was getting the better of
me and that perhaps the issue of
pedestrian-to-bus-related incidents
wasn’t as bad or as commonplace as I
had thought it was.
That the tragic death I referred
to in Sydney about six months ago
was more an Uber-related issue than
inadequacies in the ‘bus system’.
Hmmm. With bleary eyes I read right
now that less than 24 hours earlier a
Sydney bus driver has been charged
after running over a pedestrian.
According to a NSW Police statement,
“Police were told the man was
attempting to cross the road when
he was struck.” The NineNews.com.au
report continues that the 25-year-old
male pedestrian was treated at the
scene by paramedics and taken to
hospital with serious head injuries and
suffering from neck pain. He remains in
a serious condition.
In instances like this it’s often never
clear cut who may have been at fault,
but if we can’t have buses stopping
themselves when needed then we
sure as heck need them buzzing and
beeping and all sort of stuff happening
if it means it aids the driver to avert
such impacts through their corrective
nanosecond actions and decisions –
full stop. Retrofit it, whatever. It needs to
be sorted.
It’s easy to talk about what things in future would be great, but
once a big step is made it often brings an even bigger “what if?”
“It illustrates the evolution of
certain potentially life-saving and
injury-avoiding safety technologies
that is hard to ignore should be on
every bus or coach.”

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