The bus is lying on its side, in front of the Val de Loire college, in Saint-Denis-en-Val. An accident ? On the contrary, prevention. Transdev, the operator of the Rémi 45 network, is in the midst of a safety campaign with students. “We transport 24,000 schoolchildren every day, explains Emmanuel Semen, director of Transdev Loiret. However, they do not always understand the interest of wearing seat belts in the bus, hence our action.”
Meeting 500 students from Loire Valley
The company is partnering with Agora Formation to offer an experience to 6th and 5th graders: the educational bus or “overturned car”.
“We work on three colleges in the department and meet around 500 students. The goal is to explain to them why the seat belt must be used and to make them experience an unprecedented situation: the overturning of the training van and its evacuation.”
Francis Jacob, trainer at Agora Formation
A twenty-minute life-size lesson.
The rocking motion in slow motion
“It’s always a big surprise for the students, notes the trainer. Suddenly they become aware of the role of the seat belt, which prevents ejection from the passenger compartment. In a real accident, there is speed and the shock. There, we just have the rocking movement in slow motion. And we realize that the fall between the seat and the ground is already 2.50 meters. In general, the windows do not withstand the weight of falling passengers or impact. So without a belt, the risk is to be ejected and then crushed by the weight of the bus.
Once on the side of the bus, Francis Jacob teaches the college students how to evacuate, by detaching themselves carefully and passing through the side exits, such as the hatch in the ceiling.
Eight buses from Orléans Métropole donated to Ukraine to facilitate the organization of school transport
Failure to wear a seat belt, the leading cause of death
A significant experience for the students but necessary: not wearing a seat belt is the first cause of death in France in coach accidents.
“We haven’t had an accident since 2013 with Rémi 45, reassures Emmanuel Semen. And this edition is the first of a long series.”
The educational bus is now expected at the Simon-Veil colleges in Pithiviers on Thursday April 13, as well as at Pierre-Auguste Renoir, in Ferrières-en-Gâtinais on Friday April 14.
Valentine Martin
