SEPTA to install Protran's Safe Turn Alert on entire bus fleet
The system incorporates an audible warning message as well as flashing LED strobe lights on the bus that are automatically activated by the operator’s turn signal and by proximity sensors adjacent to the vehicle’s steering gear.


Harsco Corp.’s Safe Turn Alert (STA) pedestrian warning system, developed and produced by the company’s Protran Technology unit, has been selected for installation across the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) entire transit bus fleet of 1,075 vehicles.
Terms of the order were not disclosed. Installations will begin this summer and are expected to be completed by the middle of next year.
The Amalgamated Transit Union, the largest union representing transit workers in North America, estimates that roughly one pedestrian per week is killed by a transit bus in the U.S. The STA system is designed to warn pedestrians from stepping off the curb whenever an approaching bus is about to turn the corner. The system incorporates an audible warning message as well as flashing LED strobe lights on the bus that are automatically activated by the operator’s turn signal and by proximity sensors adjacent to the vehicle’s steering gear. It can also provide upgrades for additional blind spot protection beyond conventional mirrors.
The STA system joins another Protran-produced safety solution, the Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) system, which SEPTA selected last year for its rail operations as part of its growing commitment to personnel safety.
Acquired by Harsco in 2015, Protran Technology serves as an advanced technology complement to the company’s worldwide Harsco Rail track maintenance equipment and services business.
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