The effect of an active steering system on city bus drivers’ muscle activity |
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Authors: | Christer Ahlström Maria Gink Lövgren Mats Nilsson Tania Dukic Willstrand Anna Anund |
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Institution: | 1. The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Sweden;2. Volvo Bus Corporation, Sweden;3. Rehabilitation Medicine, Link?ping University, Sweden |
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Abstract: | City bus drivers spend hours driving under time pressure, in congested traffic and in a monotonous sitting position. This leads to unhealthy working conditions, especially in terms of physical and psychological stress. The aim of this study is to investigate whether an active steering system can alleviate the musculoskeletal stress involved in manoeuvring a bus. Twenty bus drivers drove a city bus equipped with the Volvo dynamic steering (VDS) support system in real traffic. Steering effort was evaluated with electromyography and with a questionnaire. Compared to baseline, VDS significantly reduced the required muscle activity by on average 15–25% while turning, and up to 68% in the part of the manoeuvre requiring maximum effort. The bus drivers believed that VDS will help reduce neck and shoulder problems, and they expressed a desire to have VDS installed in their own bus. |
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Keywords: | active steering electromyography city bus driver |
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