System and method of prompting inspection of a multi-passenger vehicle

摘要

A warning system for a multi-passenger vehicle such as a school bus which prompts the driver to inspect the vehicle for passengers when shutting down the vehicle. In the preferred embodiment the system is activated when the vehicle safety flasher system is activated. Following activation an alarm sounds when the vehicle electrical system is deactivated by shutting off the engine unless the bus driver activates an alarm delay switch and within a preset time interval activates a disarming switch located near the back of the passenger compartment. Thus, in order to deactivate the warning system of the invention the bus driver must walk through the passenger area of the vehicle at least twice, inspecting the passenger area of the vehicle in the process. The time taken to inspect the vehicle serves as a cool-down period for the vehicle engine, which is desirable in the case of turbo charged vehicle engines.