Via RSS feed.March 17th, 2008
15 Passenger Vans Dangerous? Uh-Oh…
I was surprised to read in the local paper, the Westlock News, that local school boards are banning the use of 15 passenger vans to transport students in. The local school board here, is currently considering it, while other school boards in Northern Alberta have already implemented bans. This movement follows a tragic 15 passenger van accident in Newbrunswick, you can read the article here.
Here is the most relevant part, which I’ve excerpted.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued several advisories about the dangers of the 15-passenger vans. About 1,100 people in the U.S. were killed in single-vehicle rollovers in the vans between 1992 and 2002. Such vans were found to be three times more likely to roll over than any other vehicle.
The U.S has banned the vans for school districts, but other groups including daycares still have them in use.
It seems that these vehicles are very unstable when fully loaded, and are more prone to roll-overs than any other vehicle. And I thought Jeeps were bad for rollovers!
We only have 2 children on the ground in need of vehicle seating so far, so our 4 door, diesel guzzling truck will hold us through this baby being born and one more, but then we are looking for larger vehicles.
I do know there are Quiverfull families that drive and purchase 15 passenger vans, is your family driving one? You might want to read this pdf I found online if you are, it gives some tips to maximize safety of 15 passenger vans.
How many children do you currently have, and how do you fit them all into one vehicle? Or do you take two when you all head somewhere, like church? Let me know in the comments! Let’s brainstorm together!
We have 2 children and 1 in the womb, so we currently drive a truck with a full back seat, after that, we have a mini-van (7 passenger) that will fit one more if we can get it working. Beyond that, who knows?
we’ve got six children, and are expecting #7 any day now… we found a Suburban with a bench front seat, so we can seat everyone (including this new baby) but we read this news with consternation, too… My dh isn’t enough of a hippy to drive a converted school bus, though that would probably work really well for us – and he doesn’t like the look of the new Sprinters… i’ll be looking at that pdf for sure! We also live in the Rocky Mountains, and need something with 4X4 to get through the 6 mo winter season…
Thank you for sharing this article. We have nine children currently and have had a 15 passenger for sometime. We driven three different makes and models and there are some that make me think they are less safe than others simply because of the wheel base. Personally, I wouldn’t have any trouble purchasing one again but I will always stay away from a Dodge. The Ford vans run really great (we think), but because the wheel base is not as long, I think that people tend to drive them like smaller vehicles (I know that this is hard to imagine if you have never driven one, but it’s true they feel like you are just driving a mini-van) and I would think that this would make them more prone to accidents. The Chevy’s have a longer wheel base and it is harder to park, back up, etc., but because of this, they make us drive extra carefully.
Thank you for this post!
Tracy
We heve four children and are expecting Baby #5 in Nov. We currently drive a minivan that seats 7 and a Dodge truck that holds 6. I have wanted a 15 passenger van for sometime, but my hubby would rather have a Surburban. Thanks for the info.
Belinda
We seriously considered a Suburban when we were buying, and that was before we were saved, so we were still only planning on 2 – 3 kids! I can’t quite remember why we decided to go with a truck instead, but I think we maybe read about transmissions in Suburbans being troublesome? Hmm, not sure now, my memory is a bit….squirmy! I just wish our truck was a 4 x 4, because our road is totally undeveloped, it is very snowy in the winter and very muddy in the Spring! We had visitors yesterday and they had to park at the start of the road and walk in, but it’s only 5 minutes or so down the road to our house
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Thanks to everyone for sharing! Stephanie – my DH probablly WILL end up driving a converted schoolbus! We have a real heart for adoption, and he is enough of a hippy, he is totally into the converted schoolbus way of life, LOL!
We drive a 15 passenger (actually only has seating for 12 which gives us some storage space). I love it but I will admit that it makes me a bit nervous when it is windy. Since it is so tall the wind seems to really push us around especially if we are distracted. I am not so sure how well it is going to work for us in the Alaskan snow! It is a rear wheel drive too! oh well, God provided it, it is in excellent condition, and paid for! So we will just pray even more for protection as we drive.
We also only have two so far but we are always dreaming of more. My husband plans to buy me a Suburban when we need more space and have the fourth row of seats put in the back so it will still seat 14. Much safer.
My wife and I have a 2001 Chevrolet Express 15 passenger van with almost 150,000 miles on it (mostly trouble free). We have 8 kids, so it is very helpful. We normally keep the 4th row seat out, so there is still seating for 11 with loads of room in the back- 3 strollers would fit side by side without even folding them up. We have been driving this vehicle since 2002 and have never had a problem or felt unsafe while driving it. You just need to understand that these are not sports cars, and you’ll be just fine. I do like the Chevrolets better because the wheels are farther apart than the Ford, thus making a more stable and safe ride. Besides, the Fords look like they just had an extra 3 feet glued to the back while the CHevys look more “natural”.
With the factory tires, the van was terrible in the snow, but when we installed some BF Goodrich Commercial T/A tires and put some cinder blocks in the back of the van, it was just like having 4 wheel drive, and we’ve never been stuck since. We live in Maryland, however- 8 inches is probably the most it’s ever been in. Because it sits high off the ground, the van does better in deeper snow than some smaller vehicles we’ve had that you would expect to do well in the snow.
I have been looking at Dodge Sprinter (Mercedes built) vans for replacing our van, the fuel economy is tremendous- drivers are reporting up to 30 MPG. However, these vans are INCREDIBLY expensive both to buy and to repair. You can get a brand new, well equipped Chevy for under $30,000- but you can’t get a Sprinter similarly equipped for much under $50,000.
I know this is an old post, but hopefully this info helps.
Hi I am a mom of 4 boys and have known of Quiverfull families from quite sometime. But I’m wondering in the US culture and life style, what kind of careers and salaries do quiverfull families have?
Hi Jammie,
That is SO hard to narrow down. There are both wealthy families and those living under the poverty line who follow a QF lifestyle. Also, the careers vary widely, though I believe many long to work from home. It’s so hard to quantify as we come from every walk of life – just like any follower of Jesus does! Sorry I can’t be more helpful
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It’s just about time they impose regulations like this one. Overloading is quite an issue in transportation and it’s never been given that much importance.
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This is a good move due to the statistics on these 15 passenger vans. I’ve always thought that they looked top heavy and could easily tip over. Let’s hope people take heed and stop using these vehicles and especially that government bodies stop using them. Even the slightest chance that people might get hurt is grounds enough to stop usage. It’s scary to think that they are faulty in this manner and wouldn’t you think these vehicles would have been thoroughly tested for all manner of safety especially issues when fully loaded.