As part of the MTA’s ongoing commitment to improving safety across all
agencies and in coordination with New York City’s Vision Zero plan, MTA New York City Transit has begun to test new technologies aimed at
improving safety for drivers, bus customers and pedestrians. The 60-day
tests of pedestrian turn warning and collision avoidance systems will
determine if a full pilot of one or both systems can proceed in 2016.
NYC
Transit’s Department of Buses is testing two systems on six buses: a
pedestrian turn warning system that issues an external audio warning
when the bus is making a right or a left turn, and a smart sensor based
technology designed to prevent forward and side collisions by alerting
the bus operator with visual and auditory warnings.
A pedestrian turn warning system by Clever Devices
has been installed on four buses. The system is triggered when the bus
makes a turn, activating an external warning to nearby pedestrians or
cyclists that the bus is turning. External speakers are installed in an
area that does not block the bus operator’s view, and the speaker volume
takes into consideration the ambient sound level in the vicinity of the
bus.
The second test involves a collision avoidance system that
is installed within view of the bus operator at the front of the bus.
Multiple smart vision sensors manufactured by Mobileye
are integrated with a driver interface manufactured by Rosco Vision
Systems, to create the Mobileye Shield+ system. This system is installed
in and around the bus to help detect the presence of vehicles and
pedestrians in the front of the bus and pedestrians on both sides of the
bus. The collision avoidance system alerts the bus operator prior to a
potential collision without the need for bus operator input and
continually measures distance and relative speeds of the bus and
surrounding objects to evaluate the risk of a collision. When danger is
imminent, visual and audible alerts warn the bus operator to make
necessary corrections in sufficient time to avoid a collision.
“These
initiatives are an integral part of our commitment to continually
improve our safety performance,” said Darryl Irick, senior vice
president, NYC Transit Department of Buses and president of MTA Bus.
“Our safety efforts so far have reduced the number of collisions per
million miles by as much as 46% since 1988. But we are always
aiming to do better, and we look forward to taking this
commercially-available technology and seeing how we can put it to
practical use on a larger scale under New York City operating
conditions.”