With his mirror cameras installed on his bus, Pascal sees coming from far, far away, the cyclists, cars, scooters and pedestrians who tumble on both sides of the bus.
And in high definition, please.
On both sides of the driver's seat, the screen which retransmits the lateral view is split in two: a view in perspective and in length, and a shorter but very wide view.
With this equipment, created by MAN France, bus drivers have much more time to see other road users arriving, especially small and fast ones like scooters, than with mirrors.
Read alsoBlind spots: in Paris, bus drivers and cyclists swap places to better measure the danger
“The first goal was the safety of cyclists and scooters.
We started from the observation that there is more and more diversity on the road, cohabitation with soft mobility, explains Olivier Foucourt, product development and certification manager at MAN France.
“This solution makes it possible to completely eliminate the notion of blind spots.
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Blind spots, those places invisible to the driver in a car, bus or even on a bicycle, are a known source of danger.
They are the cause of 10% of fatal accidents among pedestrians and 8% of fatal accidents among cyclists, according to figures from ONISR.
In France, the law only obliges carriers to stick a “Caution blind spots” sticker on the sides of the bus, a measure decried by pedestrian and cyclist associations because it is deemed insufficient.
MAN cameras make it possible to see everything that is happening around the bus, at all times, without having to constantly lean over and therefore take your eyes off the road.
Read alsoBicycle: against deadly blind spots… and if Paris was inspired by London?
“It should be imperative in terms of safety,” says Pascal Baudouin, driver at MAN France, and at other companies for 35 years.
"I find it crazy," he enthuses.
It allows you to make fewer inattentive errors.
Pascal takes us for a ride in the busiest districts of Paris, to realize the technological prowess.
Rond-point de l'Etoile, rue de Rivoli, Champs-Élysées: whether it's raining, whether you're going through a tunnel, whether the bus is attacked by bicycles and scooters, the visibility is clear, and Pascal doesn't is not stressed.
He insists, however, on the need to be vigilant, whatever happens.
“Regardless of the technology, you are never 100% safe.
We must continue to be vigilant, all the time.
The attention of a human being is irreplaceable”.
Besides, Pascal continues to lean over and watch his blind spots, even with the cameras.
The habit.