Are Metro’s buses and those around the country breaking down sooner than expected because we are too fat?
The Federal Transit Administration is seeking to change its bus testing regulations to reflect that Americans are now larger, as reported by AolNews. The agency wants to assume the average passenger now weighs 175 pounds, not 150, and takes up 1.75 square feet, not 1.5 square feet.
The FTA also has said that a number of buses have been tested without their all seats occupied and standing room filled “because doing so would have caused their actual weight to exceed either their gross vehicle weight rating.”
That means the test data might not reflect the actual performance of these buses during real-life service, the FTA has said, particularly during rush hour when operators frequently allow all seats and aisles to be filled – even if that means going over the vehicle weight limits.
So that means the buses weren’t tested as full as they can be in reality, nor even with the appropriately sized riders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the average man weighs 194.7 pounds and the average woman 164.7 pounds, the FTA said in its rule-changing docket. That’s significantly heavier than the current 150 pound assumption.
Adjusting the standards and testing for actual loads “will lessen premature structural fatigue and assist in avoiding catastrophic failures caused by overstressed and overworked structural and operational components,” the FTA has said.
