Special training is needed for driving 15-passenger vans – the type of vehicle
often used by churches and youth groups, the National Transportation Safety
Board said recently.
Special training is needed for driving 15-passenger vans – the type of vehicle
often used by churches and youth groups, the National Transportation Safety
Board said recently.
The board recommended that states establish programs requiring training and
testing for drivers of 15-passenger vans, which make up less than 1 percent
of all vehicles on the road but have been found to be prone to rollovers during
emergencies.
The board also recommended lap/shoulder seatbelts in all seating positions
and for the vans to be equipped with more padding and protection inside to minimize
danger to occupants during a wreck.
However, the call for driver training is key. The vans handle differently
from cars, requiring a higher skill level, the board said.
And while it is not a requirement, the recommendation adds to what has been
three years of bad news about the vehicle.
In 2001, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research found that
when loaded with 10 or more passengers, the vans were three times more likely
to roll over than if they had less than 10 passengers.
Also, last year, a National Transportation Safety Board report showed about
52 percent of 15-passenger vans involved in single-vehicle, fatal accidents
in 1991-2000 experienced a rollover. In the same circumstances, cars rolled
33 percent of the time.
Such data has led Carpenter Bus Sales in Franklin, Tenn., to stop carrying
15-passenger vans. The company is endorsed by LifeWay Christian Resources of
the Southern Baptist Convention as a provider of church buses. However, it began
phasing out 15-passenger vans as a bus option several years ago, said Terry
Butler, vice president of operations. “We could see the writing on the
wall,” he said.
Because of safety concerns, customers have been steering away from 15-passenger
vans, Butler said. He predicted there will continue to be “a large migration
out of 15 passenger vans (and) into safer vehicles.”
Fifteen-passenger vans were involved in two church-related wrecks during 2001.
One wreck that killed four people involved an Assembly of God church in Texas,
while another wreck that killed one person involved a Baptist church in North
Carolina.
Both of the passenger vans experienced blown tires and rollovers.
Then, last month, a teenager and a young mother were killed when the 15-passenger
van they were riding in rolled over when a tire blew out. The two were part
of an Ozark Prairie Baptist Association missions team traveling from Missouri
to Wyoming.
Both were members of Southern Baptist churches – and the van they were traveling
in belongs to a Southern Baptist church.
Part of the problem is that 15-passenger vans never really were designed for
passengers – but as cargo vehicles, Butler said. The vans behave very differently
when loaded but are popular because they are a low-cost alternative, he said.
The Baptist Message raised concerns about the vans in a three-page focus in
the newspaper last July. The articles presented a number of precautionary steps
from various sources for those who use the vans.
Among them was a suggestion for just what the National Transportation Safety
Board now has recommended – use of only drivers trained on the operation of
the vans. Of course, the best precaution may be to avoid 15-passenger vans altogether.
An alternative to the van is the commercial bus, which is safer and more comfortable
for passengers, Butler said.
Of course, some cost is involved. A new 15-passenger commercial bus will range
from $43,000 to $58,000, Butler said.
Still, a trend is growing, he said. “A lot of churches (have) called
on us to provide them with a 15-passenger alternative”.