Patent ID: 7125069

Claim:
A vehicle safety system for impeding the egress of an occupant of a vehicle, the safety system comprising: a first safety barrier mounted to a vehicle having a cab with an open exit, the open exit extending generally from a bottom region of the cab to a top of the vehicle, the first safety barrier comprising: a first stowed position wherein the open exit of the vehicle is substantially uncovered by the first safety barrier such that an occupant of the vehicle may egress through the exit substantially unimpeded by the first safety barrier, a first deployed position wherein the first safety barrier covers at least a portion of the open exit in order to impede the occupant's egress through the exit a control system; and a reactive safety barrier mounted to the vehicle, the reactive barrier comprising a second stowed position that leaves the exit of the vehicle substantially uncovered by the reactive barrier and a second deployed position that covers at least a portion of the exit in order to impede the occupant's egress through the exit, wherein the control system deploys the reactive barrier from the second stowed position to the second deployed position in response to the occurrence of a defined event.