Throughout the school year, parents drop their students off at school bus stops with trust that the driver will get their child to school safely. School bus safety is something integrated in the bus design, but now we don’t need to rely solely on bus design and the driver to keep our students safe. With technology advancements, school districts can have a complete overview of the fleets and ensure that every bus is keeping students as safe as possible. We have put together a list of our favorite 5 aftermarket add-ons for school buses that we install here at Lewis Bus Group.
1. Zonar
As a school bus dealership, Zonar, a telematics system, is one of our most popular add-ons. It's an extremely useful tool for every fleet including school buses and commercial buses. Zonar is a smart fleet management system used to monitor and report on bus activity like fuel use and driving routes. The device connects to the vehicle’s ECU, allowing fleet managers to have a full visual on what their buses are doing. Zonar’s GPS tracking, speeding alerts, maintenance and fuel use notifications help fleets minimize costs while maximizing safety. Notifications can be sent through an app or viewed from a desktop computer. You can get a full list of Zonar's capabilities from an LBG sales representative, parts or shop managers.
2. Child Checkmate System
Do you ever worry one of your drivers might leave a student on the bus? It’s a fear parents, bus drivers, and fleet managers have in common. The child checkmate system is designed to prevent that. The system is simple: require the driver to walk through the bus before leaving. How does it do that? A button is installed at the back of the bus that requires the driver to push before exiting. If the driver opens the doors, the bus sounds an alarm with its air horns until the driver walks to the back and presses that button. Ensure your drivers are checking for students before exiting the bus, by installing the Child Checkmate system in all your buses. This technology is especially popular for buses transporting special needs students and can be purchased and installed at Lewis Bus Group.
3. Automatic Tire Chains
In areas like Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado, it snows a lot and often. Automatic tire chains are an addition to the bus that can add extra safety during snowy weather. The bus driver is able to activate the chains without leaving the bus, keeping the students and driver safe. How do they work? It all starts with the design. Instead of wrapping around the tire, the chains are attached to a center wheel that is fitted with several chains. The wheel is lowered and held towards the driving wheels, fanning and rotating the chains so the tire is always driving over one. The driver only needs to flip a switch to engage the chains. We install automatic chains on any bus, regardless of size or age and use Onspot Chains for all installations.
4. Cameras
All vehicles can have cameras installed to help increase safety, but the cameras we work with are designed specifically for school buses and student safety. Cameras can be installed on the front, rear, sides of the bus, and on the stop sign. Adding cameras to your fleet allows the driver to have full visibility of the area around the bus, because that’s where it is most needed. Cameras, like the stop arm camera, are popular with fleet managers for assessing incidents that occur between the bus, students, and other drivers.
5. Integrated Child Seating
While all school buses are designed for optimal safety, booster seats with 5-point harnesses can be added to a bus for small children. We install the S3C Integrated Child Seating System by SynTec for any customer wanting extra safety for small passengers. The child seat module (similar to a booster seat) folds out of the center of the bus bench and gives an extra level of security for small children. The integrated seat has a 5-point harness for enhanced safety and is tested and certified for children 22-85 lbs. This is a popular addition for daycare buses and buses with Kindergartner routes.
These aftermarket add-ons can be added at any time, regardless of bus age, model, and size. Add them to your order when you buy a new bus or speak with your LBG bus sales rep, service or parts departments on adding them to your current fleet. All bus safety accessories can be purchased and installed in the Lewis Bus Group service shop in Salt Lake City.
