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Thanks I had never heard of those companies before. I found a nice video showing how they are used.
When I have seen the chains hanging I had always assumed that they were hung there to be handy for when the driver needs to mount them on the tires. In my area, every winter as soon as the rivers and lakes freeze over most traffic shifts to driving on the ice. Because very often driving directly across a lake is a lot less miles than having to drive around a lake. Though I have noticed that school districts do not allow busses to drive across lakes, they are required to drive the extra miles around every lake. The school bus of today has come a long way from buses of the past. A whole host of features ranging from tracking equipment, on board cameras, and seat belts are just a few features that can be found inside its signature yellow exterior. This technology is designed to improve both driver function and student safety. Rightfully so as thousands of these vehicles carry students of all ages from home to school and back again. The traveling school bus A factor that determines what type of equipment is used on a bus is the location where it travels as well as the time of year. Air conditioning and tinted windows can be found on buses in school districts with hot climates, while traction devices and more aggressive tires may be found on buses that run in colder climates. Throughout the year the driver is subject to certain conditions that require the proper attention and equipment to get their job done in a safe and timely manner. Operation in colder climates For bus drivers in Northern countrys the winter season can be especially challenging. There are instances where the driver has to focus on what is going on inside the bus as well as the changing conditions outside. Depending on the location some school buses can and may operate in conditions that range from a wintry mix, to snow, and even ice. Traction on snow and ice The Onspot automatic snow chain system is a device used on school buses to provide traction on snow and ice when conditions are less than ideal. The driver simply flips the dashboard switch to engage the chain system when needed and then flips it off again when the road is clear. Unlike other traction devices the system is easy to maintain and operate. The driver never has to exit the bus leaving it unattended. A look ahead to next season Although the winter season is ending across the Northern hemisphere there is still a focus on the automatic snow chain system. For those fleets currently running Onspot it may be an assessment and servicing of the units or perhaps driver training. While for those without the Onspot system this may be an opportune time to evaluate the past winter season, see if their traction requirements were met, evaluate, and rethink their current methods of operation. Follow the link below to learn more about the benefits of the Onspot automatic snow chain system.
I've seen them forever, and I just saw my kindergartner off to school. His bus stop is our house, and as I'm sitting there, I saw the chains hanging under the rear end.
What the heck are they for?!?!?!
Yep camby got it they are auto chains for inclement weather, only firetrucks have them around here but its not uncommon to see them on all kinds of trucks and busses in places like Denver. Last edited: Jun 16, 2009
Wow - OK. Something learned today!! I wanted to know what they were for for literally decades! I grew up in Syracuse, NY and every truck had them - I guess that's how we got to school and back in the middle of lake effect snow storms!!
School? In the middle of June?
I often see tankers with a single chain - used as a ground to bleed static electricity (so I've been told!). Regards, GEWB
My kids only get out this week also.
That's what I thought as well...that's why you see multiples on EMS trucks.
My vote is static discharge. The winter chains theory doesn't work. They are mostly single chains, not winter tire chain variety mesh chains. Those are pretty wide.
The chains that I've seen usually don't touch the ground and there are many of them (like 8 or so). If the chains don't touch the ground, I don't see how they would be able to ground out the vehicle (unless they went over a speed bump or something)
Static discharge chains went out ages ago. You're seeing snow chains the automatic kind only use one chain at a time.
Hey M5LiTE - your moniker shows Ashburn VA. You guys don't really get any snow to speak of (my Daughters moved to Sterling/Dulles after college - no intelligent kid stays in this dump called Michigan after graduation.....). Why would they mount snow chains on buses in that neck of the woods? Here in West Michigan, we've been averaging 100"+ annual snow fall the last several years. We don't put them on our buses up here.
There was a scene in an old James Cagny movie "White Heat", where his gang hid inside a tanker truck, to pull off a robbery. One of the gang (a police undercover agent) explained to Cagny, what the single chain under the tanker was for....static electricity. Who said TV rots your brain? Steve
On-spots. Also called fling chains. A pneumatic activator moves a wheel with lengths of chain on them to rub against the side of the tire. The wheel with the chains rotates, and the chains fling under the tire as you drive. What's nice is that it eliminates manually chaining up a vehicle for about 80% of snowfalls. It's as simple as flipping a switch to put on your chains. They are very good for up to about 5" of snow, and about 35 mph. Anything deeper, you need regular chains. You can even turn them on if stationary and stuck (like spinning a wheel in mud), but normally you must be moving to put them on or off. Anyone who's ever chained up a truck will tell you that it's a royal PITA, especially if that truck does not have its drive wheels exposed like a semi tractor. These things cost about $3,500 to retrofit to a truck, and considerably less if specified from the factory. I've tried several times (without success) to get our school district to put them on our buses, many school systems around here use them. EVERY emergency truck within 100 miles has them, and they are a great safety feature.
Those are hooked up to a buzzer so the driver knows she ran over the slow kid. Sorry... I couldnt resist
if you miss the buse just grab the chain and still make it to school
School buses? Phooey on these school systems with all their fancy dancy air-conditioned school buses. Stinkin' country full of lazy fat kids is what we're raising these days. No wonder the Russians told us to stay away from the BRIC meeting. They still know how to raise some kids. Back when I was a kid, we didn't do that bus thing to get to school. Our legs weren't busted or nothing. We just used the good ol' "left-right-left" method to get to school. I suppose they'd bring a few buses of the negroes up to our side of town, but that was different there. About the only good that comes out of a school bus is the Monday after Thanksgiving. We'd sneak the little bag of turkey guts out of the trash after the bird was stuffed. Hide it for the weekend. Monday came around and WHAMMO! We'd throw the guts on the bus windows and they'd stick. Make the little black girls cry is what it would do. Other than that, we don't need no buses. Yup, fatty's is what we're churning out. Go up to the gas station and you'll see them lined up six deep by the Mountain Dew machine wearing sweat pants with their chubby paws on a 44 ounce tub of sugar water.... all out of breath too. A couple of times, I seen the little whipper snappers sneak over to the nacho machine and drizzle a little canned cheeze into their jug o' sugar water. ....and summer's coming up. The heat always raises the stink factor by about twenty. So America, if you're still out there, here's an idea - WALK! Buncha fatty's. disclosure: Sammerdog did ride the bus during sixth grade when he was sent away to a special school for "gifted" students Last edited: Jun 16, 2009 To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
I don't recall ever seeing those either. Why would non-mountain VA schools waste money on chains? If the snow in VA is ever that bad, they'll cancel school anyway...
Thanks M5 Lite for posting this. It's been bugging me for decades too. Just always forget to ask someone about it!
When I went to school if you within 2 miles you had to walk... otherwise the bus came. Some people were 15-20 miles from school. Walking in -40* temps would be a death wish!
Yeah, tell me about it. When it does snow, it'll be either 1" or 3' - and of course the weatherman will get it backwards. The school systems around here are scared about any "preventable" accident or whatever, so they take precautionary measures beyond belief. I saw the demographics report for Loudoun County (which is basically an extension of Fairfax County except with more stringent police) and the median income is more than $107,000. I bring that figure way down - LOL!! Combine that with AOL, Verizon, Orbital, MC Dean and other large companies here, the tax base is substantial. They build a new Elementary school every year (last year there were 3 built) and a middle and high school about once every 2 years. We just voted to step up the pace on the construction of middle and HS buildings. Half the buses are brand new (LED lighting, tinted windows, etc). Loudoun County is the fastest growing county in the US for populations greater than 100,000. Currently under construction is a 300+ acre development known as One Loudoun which will house, amongst other businesses, a World Trade Center. It's a mile from my house!! So anyways, they mount the chains because they can (or least could with the past economy)
I remember seeing those years ago. I always wondered about how effective they were as I watched sparks fly off where they contacted the road. More recently I have seen straps hanging down; I figured that they were also for discharging of static electricity. Another place I have seen them is at the local WalMart. I have been shocked by the carts they have, because they have a heavy coat of paint that acts as an insulator allowing them to build up a charge until they finally zap you. I noticed straps hanging down from the carts and asked a clerck about it and she said that little kids had complained that the carts hurt them. Only a few of the carts have them; you have to look for them. One time I actually got a cart with a strap that also didn't have flat wheels!
It sure sounds like a huge misappropriation of taxpayer money. Definitely sounds like a bureaucratic thing to waste unearned money on.
Johnman - not sure I'm following you. Are you saying that the automatic tire chains (as pointed out - see www.onspot.com) on firetrucks and ambulances and buses are a waste of money?
Is that the big development on the south side of Harry Byrd/7 out towards the Leesburg Bypass? (until they bought a house this past spring, one of my Daughters and her husband lived in the apartment complex in front of the Dulles Town Center along 7)
Yep - there actually a couple of developments, the farthest along being One Loudoun. There is also Kincora which is also South of Rt. 7, at the corner of 7 and Rt. 28. They are not out towards the bypass though, they are farther east by a few miles. BTW - I just saw the bus again, and the "stuff" hanging down under it looked exactly like the Onspot equipment. Maybe on Friday, last day of school, I'll hop on board real quick and ask Ms. Yvette if she knows about them.
You must be kidding. On-spots are a fantastic safety feature. As far as emergency vehicles, you really don't want to be manually chaining up your rigs for a couple of inches of snow, (or even worse, a threat of a couple of inches of snow!) as it will be plowed away within a couple of hours anyway. But if you get a call when it's still on the ground, while you can certainly drive a rig in a few inches of snow without chains, they are a nice precaution. Another issue, is that sometimes for days after a snowfall, while the roads are long cleared, some driveways are not cleared, and if an ambulance or firetruck needs access, the on-spots can help tremendously. Our town's latest fire engine cost $570,000, (without equipment). What's $3,500 more for chains that could potentially save the rig and its occupants from a major accident? As far as schoolbuses, they cancel school based on predictions of the weatherman, which are often wrong. It's really a PITA for parents of little kids (too young to stay home alone) every time school is cancelled; but the districts usually err on the side of caution. Instant chains on the buses adds a safety margin for those iffy weather calls. When they don't cancel school, and they get surprised by a decent snowfall, its really dangerous without chains. And we are talking about precious cargo! I live in the northeast, in a VERY hilly town. Both of my kids have told me that they've been in school buses that could not make certain hills, or fishtailed in the snow. It does not take much snow when combined with a modest hill, to cause a problem for a schoolbus. Last edited: Jun 17, 2009
Hehe - I remember when I but a wee schoolboy, there was a large hill to pass in order to get to my neighborhood. School was cancelled mid-day due to fast accumulating snow in Syracuse (which meant lake effect snow - very heavy and dense snow). We were going up the hill when it started to fishtail and then came to a stop. The bus driver told ALL of us to get to the back of the bus, behind the rear wheel wells. She backed the bus down the hill, got up a head of steam, then charged the hill. We all made it home that day! I have no idea if she used the chains, I would assume now that she did engage them for the attack.
No, you were just putting more weight over the drive axle, thus giving it more traction.
Wow, I never knew these things existed until I read this thread. And would you believe it I was watching Ice Road Truckers on TV and identified these automatic chains on the undercarraige shot of the drive wheels? That's pretty cool! Now the ice was too thick to use them (they were in the stowed position) so they had to use to real tire chains. BTW Driver Lisa is pretty hot.
I'm so glad someone asked this; I've wondered for years. In Charlotte (NC) all of our ambulances have these. In 4 years it has snowed 1x that was actually enough to notice while you're driving, and it was still easy to drive in my FWD car. If I ever need medical help right now then I want the medic crews to have the ability to get to me if it snows, but automatic chains seem a bit unnecessary here for the tiny amount of snow we get.
On some of our special duty over the road trucks we had sanders to drop sand in front of the drive wheels for icy conditions. In the case of heavy snows we would shelter at a safe location until safe to proceed. We carried a VERY sensitive cargo. Howard
far more sensitive than that...booze can go by common carrier, this stuff went in a convoy with armed escort vehicles. What else does Tennessee make? think Oak Ridge Howard
This is it exactly. In the old days, you would see cars that had graphite impregnated leather straps hanging down also. Very common for someone my age to remember. Wasn't needed with a horse drawn carriage... |
Why do busses have chains
Pos Terkait
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