Abstract
The vehicle structure, designs and materials on school bus body crashworthiness as regulated by different government agencies in bus body building firms was the topic under research study. In Kenya, thousands of vehicles are involved in vehicle collisions or crashes every year resulting in fatal accidents and severe injuries to the passengers. The specific objective was the influence of vehicle inspection testson crashworthiness of school bus in Nairobi City County. This study adopted Dym’s, Suh’s Axiomatic theory. The pragmatic paradigm and explanatory research design were used. The target population was 1500 respondents from bus body building firms and government regulatory institutions. The sample size was 315 respondents. Questionnaires, interview schedules and observation were data collection instruments. Expert judgment was used to establish validity of the questionnaires. Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient was used to determine the reliability of the research instrument. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential analysis with the aid of SPSS V22 software. The coefficient of determination (R squared) of .206 showing that 20.6% of the variation in crashworthiness of a bus can be explained by vehicle inspection tests. There was a positive significant influence of vehicle inspection tests on crashworthiness of a bus (β=0.396 and p <0.05). The study concluded that the vehicle inspection tests had a significant influence on the crashworthiness of school bus. The management of school bus body construction companies need to conduct all the terminal test needed before releasing the vehicle in order to enhance crashworthiness of a bus. The Transport authority should examine and check the mandatory requirements and periodically amend them in accordance with the safety, engineering and ecological standardization.
Highlights
Crashworthiness is an engineering term used to define the ability of vehicle structure to protect its occupants during an impact [1]
The coefficient of determination (R squared) of .206 showing that 20.6% of the variation in crashworthiness of a bus can be explained by vehicle inspection tests
The adjusted R square of .202 depicts that vehicle inspection tests in exclusion of the constant variable explained the variation in crashworthiness of a bus by 20.2% the remaining percentage can be explained by other factors excluded from the model as summarized in table 1
Summary
Crashworthiness is an engineering term used to define the ability of vehicle structure to protect its occupants during an impact [1]. Crashworthiness is the process of improving the crash performance of a structure by sacrificing it under impact for the purpose of protecting occupants from injuries [1]. In the U.S.A the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No 216, Roof Crush Resistance, established a minimum requirement for roof strength to "reduce deaths and injuries due to the crushing of the roof into the occupant compartment in rollover crashes". In this test, a rigid plate is pushed into one side of the roof at a constant speed. Roof strength and injury risk in rollover crashes have a significant relationship[4]
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