Lyon, 24 June 2009
Irisbus coaches protect all their passengers
Ten million people with high body mass (including pregnant women), or nearly 16% of the French population, experience major difficulties in travelling with a fastened seat belt.
For this reason, Irisbus Iveco - the second-leading European coach and bus manufacturer - has developed a 30-cm-long seatbelt extender. In France, it is mandatory to wear a seat belt in all coaches.
The initiative that enabled the manufacturer to meet this demand came from the AUTIV, Association of Transport Users in Ille-et-Vilaine (Brittany), which is a member of the National Federation of Transport User Associations (FNAUT) in France.
The seat belt extender proposed by Irisbus Iveco is approved and referenced in the spare parts catalogue for operators who wish to equip their vehicles already in circulation. It is available as an option for new coaches.
The first four vehicles equipped with the extender in France are Evadys H coaches bearing the regional express colours of Brittany, which have just been put into service by Keolis Armor on the regular line between Rennes and Pontivy. These 12.80-metre-long vehicles with central double doors seat 55 passengers and feature a wheelchair space and two seats for people with reduced mobility, fitted with a seat belt extender.
Jean-Yves Lelièvre, President of the AUTIV association, declared: “Thanks to this extender, passengers of size can travel by coach, protected and in compliance with the law.”