a b s t r a c tSchool bus crashes are rare in comparison to other crash types, but considering all crashes that occur in and around school buses, they begin to become a noticeable problem and one that tends to attract national attention. As defined by the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a school bus related crash is a crash that either involves a school bus or a crash where the presence of a school bus is considered as a major contributing factor. Ten years of data indicate that the number of fatal school bus related crashes has remained nearly stagnant despite an increase in the number vehicle safety systems available on the market. The findings also highlight the importance of protecting the non-bus occupants since they are the most likely to incur a serious or fatal injury in the event of a crash. As the most vulnerable user group, pedestrians (typically school-aged children) are especially at risk when crossing the road while boarding or exiting a school bus. Until new technologies for reducing school bus related crashes are designed and implemented, school transportation safety can be improved by increasing awareness of school bus stop laws and by implementing existing transportation safety initiatives at school bus stop locations.

The research presented developed a hardware-in-the-loop system for testing in-truck safety technology. The paper describes the hardware and software components that were required to develop the system, how the various components were integrated, and some initial validation tests of the system. Specifically, the paper describes how the hardware-in-the-loop system interacted with the TruckSim simulator to produce realistic results. The models used for the validation of the system are detailed; a demonstration of the system validity follows. The absolute and relative errors between the TruckSim simulation results and the hardware-in-the-loop simulation were demonstrated by a comparison of the temporal variation in velocity and the truck roll angle. The study demonstrated the benefits of an accurate hardware-in-the-loop system for testing future in-vehicle safety systems.

This research estimated the safety benefits of electronic stability control systems for tractor–semitrailers by using hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) simulation. The HiL system used in this study consisted of a pneumatic tractor–semitrailer braking system and a truck simulation engine, TruckSim. Additionally, the Bendix electronic stability control system was integrated with the HiL system for the evaluation. The study evaluated the performance of the stability control system by using the HiL platform for a portion of the rollover and loss-of-control crashes selected from the database of the Large Truck Crash Causation Study. Subsequently, the evaluated performance was combined with the effectiveness rated by the expert panel at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute to calculate the total crash prevention ratios. Finally, this study estimated crash reductions and cost benefits. It provides lessons learned to researchers and practitioners through the course of evaluation procedures.