15 passenger vans are a convenient choice for taking groups of 15 people on business trips with colleagues or when transporting sports, drama or other such teams. These vans are large and comfortable, offering more space for passengers, and for the passengers' entertainment many of these vans are connected for TV and may also have DVD players. They are also commonly used to transport members of a variety of organizations and groups including hotels guests, airport fly shuttles, airport parking businesses, tourism companies, day care, school and religious groups What is often not recognized or perhaps not acknowledged by organizations, schools and churches who use these vans for carrying groups to and from various activities is that while obviously not deliberately manufactured to be dangerous, there are some crucial design and manufacturing issues which make these passenger vans more likely to roll over and crash than most other vehicles on the road. While they appear to be comparable to other vans on the road in order to hold more people the back end of these vans is longer than on other vans and it is precisely this extra weight on the vehicle's back axle that makes it more difficult for the driver to control. The van may fishtail when the driver has to swerve or turn to abruptly to avoid an accident and even a slight loss of control can result in the van becoming unbalanced and flipping over. The results of a study by the United States Department of Transportation established that when this large van has eleven passengers it is three time more likely to roll over than the same van with only five passengers. This fact clearly indicates that these vans are dangerous when full to capacity and in spite of these startling statistics 15 passenger vans are still being used. It is imperative that drivers of these passenger vans be focused and alert and not allowed to drive more than eight hours a day. They must check the van frequently and inspect the tires for tire traction and pressure. Drivers must also make sure that passengers wear seatbelts and stay in their seats and at the same time drivers need to develop cautious driving habits and use spotters for assistance when backing up. The instability of these passenger vans also makes them more vulnerable to common road hazards including potholes, uneven pavement and other road defects. |
