Public Citizen | Auto Safety Group | Auto Safety - Joan Claybrook's Letter to NHTSA Administrator Runge Regarding 15-Passenger Van Safety Hazards

November 13, 2002
The Honorable Jeffrey Runge
Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 7^th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20591

Yesterday Public Citizen released a new report about problems with 15-passenger vans in which we urge an immediate retrofit with dual rear wheels to significantly reduce the likelihood of rollover. NHTSA’s excellent Research Note of April 2001 identified the propensity for rollover in single-vehicle crashes as a major problem with these vehicles. However, we are very concerned that NHTSA has never tested or evaluated these cut-rate re-fitted cargo vans, given that they are used to transport large groups of people.

The work we have done in preparing this report is what NHTSA should have done after its first consumer warning in 2001. It is very disturbing that NHTSA’s public affairs office is telling the press there is no problem with this vehicle. Not only is this very misleading to the public, but it makes the agency look foolish to the media.

We also held a press conference, at which six survivors of crashes spoke about the devastation to their family, their community and their physical and emotional health that had been inflicted by horrific crashes in these vans. A pastor of a church in California spoke about the impact of a major crash upon his congregation in which four people were killed and of his anger at the lack of information available on safety. Because the vans are used by churches, schools, sports teams, and elder-care centers, contain very little crash protection, and are tippy and top-heavy, particularly when loaded, the crashes that occur are often crushing to entire organizations. The manufacturers and NHTSA share a special obligation to protect the public from such concentrated pain.

But there is a fix. The installation of two rear wheels on either side of the van has been shown to greatly improve stability in tests by two independent testing companies, when compared to the single rear wheels on the vans as they are sold to the public. I am enclosing a copy of our report, Stopping Rollovers: The Dual-Wheel Solution for 15-Passenger Van, which provides strong evidence for our suggested remedy. I am also enclosing the test footage of a 1992 GM Rally STX Van and a 1996 E350 Ford Club Wagon at 45 to 50 mph with simulated loads of 10 people, and also some at Gross Vehicle Weight in J-turn and reverse steer maneuvers.

All three companies in the United States that have manufactured 15-passenger vans, General Motors, Ford and DaimlerChrysler, have offered dual wheels for sale on pick-up trucks for years, using equipment that is quite similar to those that should be required on 15-passenger vans. Retrofit packages are offered for sale by manufacturers and on the Internet. A retrofit package would cost the vehicle owner at least $300 to $400 (without the overpriced fenders), but the cost to the manufacturer for mass production on 15-passenger vans would be about one-third of that consumer price.

In our report we also identify a number of other issues I would like to bring to your attention.

1. First, the 15-passenger vans inappropriately fall into a regulatory black hole. Because they carry over 10 passengers, they are categorized as a bus, but they are far smaller than motor coaches, which are lightly regulated for safety purposes. Fifteen-passenger also need not meet small school bus standards, which are far stronger. Furthermore, because they are not passenger cars or multipurpose passenger vehicles, 15-passenger vans are exempt from a number of federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS), including the following:

FMVSS 201: interior impact;
FMVSS 202: head restraints for rear seats;
FMVSS 206: for door locks and retention;
FMVSS 214: for side impact dynamic testing; and
FMVSS 216: for roof crush resistance.

Their lack of crash protection under key standards is particularly frightening because 15-passenger vans are highly prone to devastating rollover crashes. NHTSA should close this safety gap by applying all crash protection standards to these vehicles. This is a relatively simple undertaking, as the standards are already drafted and have a long pedigree. Although many of the standards are out-dated and in dire need of an upgrade, application of these fundamental safeguards would be a decent starting point. As a part of its larger work, the agency should also revisit many of these standards by bringing them up to current technology.

The continuing sale of these dangerous vehicles also reinforces the argument for the timely development of a minimum rollover propensity protection standard, to set a floor on the risk to consumers posed by rollover-prone vehicles.

2. NHTSA has the statutory authority to define the safety standards that apply to various vehicle "types." NHTSA could staunch the bleeding from 15-passenger van crashes immediately by rewriting the definition of the "type"of vehicle that can carry over 10 passengers, requiring these vehicles to meet various FMVSS and small school bus standards crash protection standards, and to be constructed with dual wheels.

3. NHTSA should close the safety gap between 15-passenger vans and other vehicles by including them in NHTSA’s research, testing and its New Car Assessment Program dynamic rollover test consumer information rule, in order to help consumers make informed choices among vehicles, as the NTSB recommended in its November 1, 2002 letter to you.

4. NHTSA should send a warning letter to all owners of these vehicles with a list of precautions for owners to reduce occupant risks, as GuideOne insurance company has to those it insures. Although NHTSA has stressed safety measures in its consumer advisories, despite some recent publicity about this problem, many owners remain unaware of the steps they should take to protect the safety of their passengers. A strong message must be sent by the agency about the risks inherent to these vans, and the limited steps that consumers may take to try to protect themselves and their loved ones. Owners should be advised of the lifesaving value of dual rear wheels on these vehicles.

5. NHTSA should urge the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to require a commercial drivers license for drivers of any vehicles carrying 10 passengers, rather than for those carrying over 16 passengers, as under the present rules.

These remedies are relatively modest. Yet they are needed to stop these rolling time-bombs from inflicting unnecessary harm upon so many innocent people. I urge you to give them serious attention and to act immediately to remove this grave risk to public safety.

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