Driving a 16-ton school bus in Osceola County’s traffic is a tall order. But the weight of the bus isn’t nearly as heavy as the weight of responsibility for keeping students safe.
“Sitting in the saddle, holding on to the handlebars is a pretty daunting task,” said Randy Wheeler, the School District of Osceola County’s Director of School Bus Transportation. “Driving a bus and being responsible for all the kids that are on the bus and around the bus … that’s a pretty heavy load.”
Last week, Osceola County announced a new partnership with Korean company Smart Radar System to equip a bus with a prototype that could serve as a “virtual assistant” to eliminate the danger of blind spots.
“Everything about a bus is designed and engineered to safely attract students to that vehicle: the color, the lights, the signals,” Assistant Superintendent Scott Knoebel said. “But we do recognize there’s risk, and we want to mitigate that risk.”
Knoebel said that in a recent 10-year period, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 73 incidents involving pedestrians and school buses, with half of those incidents involving school children. “So we are looking to do everything that is in our power to ensure that our students are safe, not only on the bus, but around the bus, as well,” he said.
The new technology, which still needs to be approved by the Department of Education, consists of radars installed on the outside, inside, and underside of the bus. If a pedestrian is too close to the bus, lights and alarms will sound to alert the driver. The system would be fully integrated with the District’s management system, so the responsibility for monitoring it doesn’t fall solely on the driver.
Paul Kim, CEO of Smart Radar System, explained, “When I first met with Randy, they gave us a pretty hard task of detection of the people underneath the bus. Our engineering team worked hard with their team to come up with a radar solution.”
“If anybody falls underneath the bus, the radar will capture it,” Kim said. “And then also, if anybody is within like two feet to the side of the bus or a little bit of distance in the front, then radar will capture it and then sends alarm messages as well as the LED signals.
“Also, we were told that a lot of accidents happen when they leave kids in the vehicle. So we actually recycled our technology from Korea and then installed 17 radars inside the bus: 11 underneath the seats, and then six over the top.”
Kim said the concept for the radar-based school bus safety solution was born here in Osceola County, and he looks forward to continuing to work together to protect our communities.
“During the Korean War, the U.S. sent many young men to Korea to protect and save lives. The economic prosperity of Korea and the vibrant K-culture wouldn’t exist without their sacrifices. As Koreans, we deeply appreciate their courage and selflessness. Now, it’s Korea’s turn to contribute positively to the U.S.”
