Ntsb Safety Alert National Transportation Safety Board

By National Transportation Safety Board

Book Id: WPLBN0000703091
Format Type: PDF eBook
File Size: 88,080 KB.
Reproduction Date: 2006

Title:	Ntsb Safety Alert National Transportation Safety Board
Author:	National Transportation Safety Board
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Government publications, Transportation and society, National Transportation Safety Board (U.S.)
Collections:	National Transportation Safety Board Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	National Transportation Safety Board


Citation APA MLA Chicago Safety Board, N. T. (n.d.). Ntsb Safety Alert National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.cc/

Description
Government Reference Publication

Excerpt
Excerpt: The grim facts: // Between 1990 and 2001, the government reported 1,441 fatal crashes involving 15-passenger vans. // A total of 601 of these were single-vehicle crashes; 316 of the vehicles rolled over. // In 2001 alone, 130 occupants of 15-passenger vans died in crashes involving these vehicles. // There were about 500,000 registered 15-passenger vans in 2001, an increase of more than 280 percent since 1990. // Large vans are frequently used to transport college and other school sports teams, commuters, students, day care children, the elderly, and church groups. // Half of the 15-passenger vans involved in single-vehicle accidents roll over, compared with one-third of passenger cars. // Eighty-one percent of 15-passenger van deaths occur in single-vehicle rollover accidents. // A major problem with 15-passenger vans is that their tires are often under-inflated, leading to higher tire temperatures, faster tire deterioration, and diminished driving stability. // Adding passengers and cargo causes the center of gravity to move upward and rearward, increasing a vehicle's tendency to roll over and increasing the potential for the driver to lose control in emergency maneuvers. // Fifteen-passenger vans are 3 times more likely to roll over when loaded with more than 10 passengers. // In just two 15-passenger-van crashes alone in Virginia and Texas in 2001, a teenager and four senior citizens died when the left rear tires failed, the drivers lost control of the vehicles, and the vans rolled over several times.