School bus drivers have long relied on rearview mirrors, and more recently video cameras, to maximize safety, with some enjoying combination mirror/monitor camera systems. Now, Rosco Inc. has partnered with Thomas Built Buses to install its MOR-Vision on the Saf-T-Liner C2 school bus platform at the assembly line.
The patent-pending MOR-Vision backup camera system consists of an ultra-bright, seven-inch color LCD monitor positioned on the rear side of tinted safety glass in school buses’ large interior mirror.
After two years of research and design, Rosco said it discovered the right balance between the mirror glass tint and the visibility of the high-brightness monitor through the glass when needed. According to the company, this brightness creates a clear and crisp video image from a reverse camera, with an optional second camera on the exterior side or interior of the bus.
The system features two camera inputs that can be activated by cameras placed on the exterior rear of the bus to ensure safe reverse operations, the interior rear of the bus to view students or the bus’ exterior side to monitor loading and unloading areas, or danger zones.
“We suggested Rosco develop (this technology) to continue our mission of school bus safety, and to do it in a way which does not add an additional piece of equipment to the cockpit of a school bus,” said Ed Swaim, Thomas’ product manager. “Rosco, in conjunction with Thomas Built’s engineering teams, devised key customizations to the MOR-Vision install to integrate it into our assembly process.”
Dave McDonald, Rosco’s director of technical sales noted that public and private school bus operators, as well as individual states, have already embraced MOR-Vision.
“These operators especially appreciate the quality of an OEM install that is done to the exact specifications and best practices of the school bus manufacturer, inclusive of all warranty coverage that normally applies to the bus,” he added.
MOR-Vision comes in three sizes made to fit small, medium and large commercial vehicles. All three models display a high brightness monitor behind the glass when the vehicle is in reverse, while the normal full mirror view automatically reappears when the driver shifts into other modes of bus operation.
The backup camera system is designed to comply with all federal laws and performance requirements. With federal laws mandating backup camera use on vehicles less than 10,000 GVW by 2018, the two companies predict that laws for medium- and heavy-duty vehicle will soon follow.
Watch a video from the 2011 NAPT Summit Trade Show that discusses this and other Rosco mirrors:
