Evaluation of Camera-Based Systems to Reduce Transit Bus Side Collisions - Phase II, Summary.

摘要

In a previous project for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT project BDK85 977-08), University of Florida researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of side-view cameras in giving bus operators a clear view of the right and left sides of the bus, eliminating large blind spots. The Florida Crash Analysis Reporting System (CARS) shows that about 2500 bus-at-fault collisions occur each year in the state, and almost half of these occur in the right and left bus blind spots. In this project, the researchers took the next step of developing and field-testing a functional hybrid camera-mirror system and recommending specifications for such systems, with the goal of facilitating their widespread use. In the previous project, operators answered a key question for development of the system: they preferred a hybrid mirror-camera system over cameras alone. Also in the previous project, the camera systems used were aftermarket products with a wide-angle view of up to 100 degrees. Operators found that this angle covered too wide an area, and with the fish-eye distortion, the scene was difficult to interpret. Therefore, after testing, the researchers selected for this project a 65-degree angle for the developed system, which gave excellent coverage and a flatter, more easily interpretable scene.