EMERGENCY DOORS IN SIDE-ENTRANCE BUSES.
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The Need for Better Arrangements, Ensuring Absolute Reliability in the Action of Safety Devices.
TT was with great satisfaction that the writer read -A-the editorial paragraph which appeared in The Commercial Motor for .April 3rd, 1928, and the letter of " J.G.P." in the issue for April 10th, dealing with the possibility of emergency doors becoming inoperative. The matter appeals particularly to the writer having once been early on the scene where a number of passengers was burnt to death in a bus the gruesome details of which and the heartrending evidence given at the inquest having left a lasting impression on his mind.
Unless one man has to act as driver and collector Of fares, it is not easy to see the reason why side doors should be fitted at all to buses, as it is better that the driver should be free from interference from passengers and conversation with him made almost impossible. Where passengers are associated with the driver there is always the possibility of overcrowding preventing the driver from performing his duties properly, and he should be completely isolated from the passengers.
The writer has on many occasions tried to get from body makers the reason why buses that carry no passengers on the top should not have rear doors, not as emergency doors, but for general purposes, but all the information he could get is that they have mostly been made without them.
The case referred to by " J.G.P.," where he saw a driver fail in his attempt to open an emergency door that had been trusted to for some time in the belief that all was in good order is by no means an Isolated one. Precious moments might be lost in the case of a fire in trying to open an emergency door that had been neglected and, as " J.G.P." points out, it is hard to say which is worse, an emergency door that will not open, or no emergency door at all, as in the latter case people would not waste time trying to open it, but would immediately look for some other means of escape.
I have on more than one occasion heard of incidents where outside help has been necessary for the release of imprisoned bus passengers, and of roofs having to be smashed in to allow them to escape. Surely such things should be avoidable. Windows are suggested by some as affording sufficient means of escape, but, in the case of the fatal fire already referred to, all the windows could have been pushed down and the •passengers might have escaped that way, but
in the panic they stood up on the seats with their back to the windows to avoid the flames. The uselessness of an occasionally used emergency door and dropping windows was clearly proved in that case, otherwise the victims would have availed themselves of them instead of being burnt to death. The natural instinct in time of danger is to try to escape by the same door by which one enters.
In the case of an overturned vehicle at night it is not uncommon for all lights to go out, so the reading of instructions is then rendered impossible, and it is very doubtful whether, while all is going well, many passengers read instructions telling how to operate an emergency device.
In the case of a vehicle running into a ditch and turning on to its side, it is usually the near side that is underneath, so escape by side doors is then rendered impossible. If in the endeavour to. avoid a pedestrian or other vehicle, a bus be driven hard against a wall or thick hedge, the same effect occurs.
A,s there appears to be some mason, not apparent to the writer, and additional to the fact that the near side is the one for normal entrance and exit, for the continuance of fitting side doors for ordinary use, it might be well to consider how emergency doors can best be constructed so that they do not become inoperative from want of use or through distortion of the frame caused by accident, for it must be remembered that, even with the rigid construction of the rail
way carriage, in cases of accident on the railway it is not uncommon for the doors to become jammed. A jammed door can be opened, provided that the catch can be worked, if sufficient leverage be provided, as when once free from its frame, no jamming can prevent its opening.
With this in view, the writer offers the suggestion that a lever might be provided which, when pulled, should impart a slight rotary movement to a vertical shaft with a crank at each end bearing against the frame so as to start the door opening.
Cams at the top and bottom might perform the function of keeping the door closed and at the same time effecting an opening sufficient to make the door clear its frame at the same time. Doors of the folding type, hinged in the centre, as used in some telephone boxes, would be less likely to jam, as pressure against the centre relieves the friction at the sides.
Even if a perfectly reliable emergency door can be designed that will always open when required, we shall then have hardly got all that is wanted, as in a crowded bus a passenger standing against the door • may inadvertently operate the fastening and fall out, unless some means, such as a safety catch, be provided.
The writer cannot help thinking that the simplest solution of the problem is to use the back door for all general purposes, excepting in the case of a one-man operated bus. Every one would then recognize that there was a door at the rear, as that was the way he came in, so, of course, he would try to go out that way should an accident or fire occur. It would be interesting to hear the views of others on this subject. C.M.L.,