More than 10,000 churches continue to operate a vehicle the
Southern Baptist Conventions primary insurer of churches has declared
“inherently unsafe.”
GuideOne is the church insurer endorsed by the Southern Baptist
Annuity Board. It insures more than 50,000 churches, and about 10,000 of those
maintain policies on one or more 15-passenger vans.
More than 10,000 churches continue to operate a vehicle the
Southern Baptist Conventions primary insurer of churches has declared
“inherently unsafe.”
GuideOne is the church insurer endorsed by the Southern Baptist
Annuity Board. It insures more than 50,000 churches, and about 10,000 of those
maintain policies on one or more 15-passenger vans.
However, the insurer has strongly encouraged churches to stop
using the vans. “GuideOne believes 15-passenger vans to be inherently unsafe,”
a company statement said. “We encourage our policyholders to strongly consider
other transportation options.”
GuideOne still covers 15-passenger vans it already has insured
but has stopped writing new policies for them. It also has issued regulations
about who may operate the vans. All drivers are required to have a chaffeurs
or commercial drivers license or to pass a defensive drivers course.
In April, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
reissued a cautionary warning on 15-passenger vans. Research has determined
15-passenger vans have a rollover risk that dramatically increases as the number
of occupants increases from fewer than five people to more than 10.
(The Baptist Message addressed the safety problems related
to 15-passenger vans in its July 18, 2002, issue)
Critics say that the weight and center of gravity of 15-passenger
vans make them more susceptible to rollovers, that their design does not allow
them to endure a side-impact crash and that many deaths in the vans have been
attributed to occupants not wearing seat belts.
These findings have created a quandary for many churches that
do not want to operate potentially-unsafe vehicles but have large sums of money
invested in the vans. The vans are popular because they provide a relatively
inexpensive way to transport a group of people in a vehicle that anyone with
a regular license can drive.
If they sell their 15-passenger vans, some churches fear they
might simply be passing the safety hazard onto others.
Others continue to operate the vans but with added restrictions
and with drivers trained to the unique characteristics of handling the vehicle.
Critics say the vans body extends too far beyond the
rear axle, causing the back end to swing out uncontrollably during quick maneuvers.
This condition is exaggerated if the van is towing a trailer.
The vans also are said to be top-heavy, because they are built
on a base designed to carry cargo on the floor, not passengers elevated off
the floor.
For this reason, critics contend the vans actually are more
dangerous for adults than children, because adults are taller and heavier, shifting
the center of gravity even more.
The solution to the problem is for churches to use 15-passenger
buses rather than the vans, GuideOne suggested.
“The big difference … is that buses are designed and
made specifically to pass government safety tests for passenger vehicles,”
GuideOne materials note. “Fifteen-passenger vans are not held to this same
(safety) standard. Buses generally are encased in a steel cage, have stronger
flooring, specially-designed seating with better collapse and impact absorption
and better rollover protection.”
However, the greatest determining factor in whether occupants
in rollover crashes live or die is the use of seatbelts.
Reports show that 80 percent of people killed in van rollover
crashes in the last 10 years were not wearing safety belts. Passengers who wear
seatbelts in 15-passenger vans are 75 percent less likely to be killed in a
rollover crash.
Meanwhile, observers warn that churches wanting to sell their
vans may not get the kind of financial deal they want.
“Theres just a real glut on the market, …”
explained Nick England, president of Lasseter Bus and Mobility.
“But our experience has been that (churches) are not really deterred by
that. There just seems to be a feeling of cutting their losses because they
realize this is not the vehicle they need.” (ABP)