wfn.org | NCC CAUTIONS ON SAFETY RISKS OF FULLY LOADED 15 PASSENGER VANS

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National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
NCC NEWS: 212-870-2227			Contact: Pat Pattillo
E-mail: news@ncccusa.org; www.ncccusa.org
NCC7/19/01 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCC CAUTIONS CHURCHES ON SAFETY RISKS
OF FULLY-LOADED 15-PASSENGER VANS

NEW YORK - It's summertime, and church groups from coast to coast are off to
camps, conferences, retreats, the beach and the mountains.  If they're
traveling in 15-passenger vans, the National Council of Churches says:
"Watch out!".
Responding to consumer alerts issued by the Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA), and news of several recent deadly accidents
involving church and college groups, the Council has alerted its 140,000
affiliated congregations to the issue, just as the summer travel season
reaches its peak.
The National Council's General Secretary, Robert Edgar, wrote to officials
of the NCC's 36 member denominations to share data from the NHTSA.
That agency's study of 15-passenger vans, released this spring, warns that
the risk of rollover increases dramatically as the number of occupants
increases to more than ten passengers.  In fact, 15-passenger vans carrying
10 or more occupants had a rollover rate in single-vehicle crashes nearly
three times the rate of those that were lightly loaded, the safety agency
reported.
NHTSA's analysis revealed that the center of gravity in a fully-loaded van
shifts rearward and upward, increasing the likelihood of loss of control and
rollover in panic maneuvers.
"We felt it was important to raise the caution flag for our churches about
the operation of these vans," Dr. Edgar notes.
"Churches should use drivers who understand the unusual handling
characteristics of a fully loaded 15-passenger van. In addition, asking all
passengers to use their seat belts can dramatically increase the chances of
survival if a van is in an accident," Dr. Edgar said.  NHTSA's analysis
shows that four out of five of those who died last year in vehicle rollovers
were not buckled up.
-end-
National Council of Churches website:  http://www.ncccusa.org
NHTSA's detailed study of rollover tests:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa/pdf/15vanRollNote.pdf