Transport
The Flemish public transport company De Lijn is taking measures after a sixteen-year-old girl became stuck between the doors of a bus in early December. She was dragged for miles.
On December 5 last year, a sixteen-year-old girl became stuck between the closing doors of a De Lijn bus on the connection between Steenokkerzeel and Kampenhout. She was then dragged for miles, but was unharmed except for a few bruises.
In the aftermath, De Lijn tested the security mechanism when closing the doors of the specific series of buses used on the journey. That investigation has now been completed, and the results are said to correspond with the findings of an external expertise of the subcontractor.
The tests showed that the security always works, except when the doors are ‘forcefully closed’. Such a forced closing is a way to control the doors so that they can close when travelers are standing in front of the optical sensors, for example when the bus is very full.
Software adjusted
“De Lijn is now in contact with the manufacturer to have the software adjusted so that the protection against entrapment of travelers also comes into effect in the event of a forced closure of the doors,” the public transport company says in the press release. “Pending that fix, the necessary measures have already been taken so that drivers who drive on the relevant school services of Haacht-Tildonk-Keerbergen only have the doors close automatically, with the usual security.”
Monitoring by De Lijn also shows that the school runs in Kampenhout are heavily used, “but that there is no real structural overcrowding on the vehicles.” However, De Lijn noted that “the capacity of the vehicles is not always used optimally”. For example, travelers often remained at doors after boarding in order to be able to disembark quickly upon arrival. Awareness campaigns must now alert travelers to the importance of rescheduling.
