2002 Vehicle Safety Press Articles

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December 12, 2002

Philadelphia Inquirer, "Industry explores safety for 15-passenger vans; Concerns about rollover crashes have Ford and GM testing such technologies as stability control and antilock brakes"

U.S. Automakers, amid concerns about rollover crashes involving 15-passenger vans, said they were exploring technologies to make the vehicles safer. General Motors Corp. is looking at adding the StabiliTrak stability-control system to its Chevrolet Express 3500 and GMC Savana 3500, spokesman Jay Cooney said. Ford Motor Co., which holds an 85 percent share of the 15-passenger van market with part of its Econoline series, also said recently it was exploring some of the safety recommendations that the NTSB issued in November.

December 07, 2002

News Herald, "Kia Defendant in Law Suit Over Defect in Fuel Line"

A Lorain woman filed suit against car-manufacturer Kia after her husband died in 2000 in a fiery crash on Ohio 2 at the Ohio 579 curve. More...

December 10, 2002

The Oregonian, "Fatal crash of large van raises more questions"

A 15-passenger van rolled over on an icy Sherman County highway Sunday, leaving a woman dead and seven other passengers seriously injured.

Sherman County Undersheriff Glenn Fluhr said the cause of the single-vehicle accident was still under investigation. Fluhr said the vehicle, which carried 16 passengers including an infant, was a Ford Econoline van.

November 16, 2002

Grand Forks Herald, "UND lets vans roll"

An official at UND says there is no plan to idle any of the school's 21 large passenger vans as a result of safety concerns, and, most recently, an accident that sent five Valley City State University students and a faculty driver to the hospital this week.

VCSU suspended use of three of its vans after the rollover accident that took place in icy conditions west of West Fargo on I-94.

November 15, 2002

Detroit Free Press, "Automakers study safety of 15-seat vans"

U.S. automakers, amid concerns about rollover crashes involving 15-passenger vans, said they are exploring technologies to make the vehicles safer.

General Motors Corp. is looking at adding the StabiliTrak stability-control system to its Chevrolet Express 3500 and GMC Savana 3500, spokesman Jay Cooney said. Ford Motor Co., which holds an 85 percent share of the 15-passenger van market with part of its Econoline series, also said recently it was exploring some of the safety recommendations that the NTSB issued in November.

November 13, 2002

Los Angeles Times, "Auto makers urged to make vans safer"

A consumer group urged two major automakers Tuesday to begin installing a second set of rear wheels on 15-passenger vans to prevent the kind of rollover accidents that have killed at least 424 people since 1990.

Public Citizen said replacing the current axle on the back of the van with one that would hold four wheels, instead of the usual two, could stabilize the vehicles, making them less prone to rollover crashes.

November 13, 2002

Washington Post, "Regulators tackle van safety"

In response to controversy about the safety of 15-passenger vans, federal regulators and safety advocates are proposing ideas for making the vehicles less likely to roll over.

The vans, often used by church groups and school athletic teams, have drawn increased scrutiny and have been the subject of lawsuits in recent years. Regulators warn that the vans are three times as likely to tip over when carrying 10 or more passengers as when carrying fewer people.

November 12, 2002

The New York Times, "Groups clashing over safety of 15-passenger vans"

With deaths and lawsuits drawing attention to high-riding 15-passenger vans, federal officials are urging automakers to improve the safety of the vehicles, which are widely used by school sports teams, church groups and summer campers.

But consumer advocates, automotive engineers and lawyers involved in lawsuits arising from some crashes say that recommendations issued a little less than two weeks ago are extremely limited and do not address fundamental design flaws.

November 5, 2002

Los Angeles Times, "Safety features for 15-passenger vans urged"

U.S. safety investigators, concerned about rollover crashes, have asked regulators as well as General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. to take steps to improve the safety of 15-passenger vans.

The NTSB wrote to the chief executives of both companies Friday, recommending the manufacturers look into technology that would help drivers maintain better control of these vehicles.

October 31, 2002

Honolulu Advertiser, "HPD dumps Harleys"

The Honolulu Police Department yesterday banned use of Harley-Davidson motorcycles after a solo bike officer was injured last week while escorting Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Traffic Division Maj. Robert Prasser said yesterday that the HPD vehicle maintenance section has reported handling problems with Harley Davidsons at high "pursuit-type" speeds.

October 29, 2002

New York Daily News, "Cabbie death protect Fiery tragedy blamed on car flaw, intersection"

Friends and family of Mohammed Abu Yousuf yesterday called for justice in the investigation of the taxi driver who died in a fiery auto crash.

Twenty-five people yesterday gathered in a candlelight vigil at Northern Blvd. and Broadway, where Yousuf, 44, was killed in a hit-and-run accident as he sat in his cab at a red light Friday morning. Yousuf was just minutes from his Woodside home after finishing an overnight shift when his Ford Crown Victoria was rear-ended by an SUV and spun across the intersection before it caught fire at 4:30 a.m.

October 24, 2002

Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Patrol car in fatal crash was without new safety shield"

A Ford patrol car involved in the fiery accident that killed a Dallas police officer Wednesday did not have a new shield recommended by the manufacturer a month ago to help prevent gas tank explosions.

Although the Crown Victoria was not equipped with the proposed safety shield, city officials confirmed that the car had undergone another procedure, also recommended by Ford, to reduce the threat of gas tank explosions.

October 24, 2002

Detroit Free Press, "Another cop killed when Crown Vic hit"

As Ford officials gathered in Warren with local law enforcement officials to highlight new safety features on Crown Victoria Police Interceptors, Dallas police investigated a fiery car crash that left a police officer dead.

At least 13 officers across the country have died in fiery crashes in Crown Victorias since 1983 -- the most recent death at 1 a.m. Wednesday. An off-duty Dallas police officer was killed in a highway accident when a sport-utility vehicle slammed into the back of his slow-moving Crown Victoria squad car.

September 27, 2002

Bismarck Tribune, "Van safety worries"

In April, the federal government issued, for the second time, a safety warning for 15-passenger vans--which often are used by schools to transport sports teams--saying the vans have a dramatically higher risk of rollovers when full and should only be operated by experienced drivers.

September 21, 2002

Lexington Herald-Leader, "Loaded vans' stability at issue"

Despite one of their number dying, the 10 people traveling in a van that rolled over late Thursday night were fortunate they were wearing seat belts: such a simple precaution increases the chance of surviving a 15-passenger van rollover from 20 percent to 92 percent, according to the NHTSA.

The accident involving a 15-passenger van owned by the Christian Appalachian Project killed 31-year-old Hope Baker of Heidrick, who was participating in a program for disabled adults the charity operates in Rockcastle County.

September 17, 2002

Detroit Free Press, "SUVs unsafe at all times, author says"

Detroit's top auto executives, plus legions of Explorer, Grand Cherokee, Durango, Navigator and Tahoe owners, will be squirming -- and probably fuming -- over publication today of a provocative book, "High and Mighty: SUVs, the World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way."

This book assaults sport-utility vehicles with a gusto recalling Ralph Nader's 1965 broadside against the Corvair in "Unsafe at Any Speed."

September 14, 2002

Portland, Maine Press Herald, "Allagash crash points up warnings about van"

Federal highway-safety regulators have warned for two years that 15-passenger vans are much more likely to roll over when fully loaded. An April report from the NHTSA warned about the propensity for rollovers and may have foreshadowed the worst motor-vehicle accident in Maine history.
Fourteen forestry workers from Honduras and Guatemala died and another swam to safety Thursday after their van pitched off a one-lane bridge across the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

September 13, 2002

Raleigh News & Observer, "Mixed views on officer's Harley"

A federal safety agency investigated the model of motorcycle involved in a Raleigh police officer's death for front-wheel wobble of the type that initiated the crash.

Officer Charles Radford Paul III, 30, lost control of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle Tuesday after its front wheel began to wobble as he was passing a tractor-trailer at 85 mph on the Beltline, the police report said.

September 9, 2002

Bend.com (Oregon), "Bend traffic officer suffers minor injuries in police motorcycle crash"

Police officers aren't immune from crashes, as one traffic officer learned Monday afternoon when he was thrown from his motorcycle at a northeast Bend intersection, suffering minor injuries.

 September 4, 2002

60 Minutes II, "Rollover"

What do you imagine is one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road in terms of rollover? You may be surprised to hear that it's a vehicle commonly used by schools, day care centers, scout troops, churches, and hotels -- just to name a few.

It's the 15-passenger van. As 60 Minutes II first reported last spring, the 15-passenger van is one of the most dangerous vehicles on the road in terms of rollover.

August 24, 2002

The New York Times, "Some insurers halt coverage for vans linked to rollovers"

After deadly rollover crashes of 15-passenger vans that killed or injured young athletes, church choir members and summer campers, a growing number of colleges and churches are prohibiting or severely limiting the use of the vehicles, and some insurance companies are refusing to insure the vans as costly lawsuit settlements threaten to cut into their profits.

August 24, 2002

San Francisco Chronicle, "8 ejected, injured in van crash; 2 in critical condition after outing to park"

What began as a fun trip to an amusement part turned tragic Friday when a van carrying 15 people veered out of control and rolled over on Highway 101 in Redwood City, ejecting eight riders.

Two unidentified minors remained in critical condition with head injuries at area hospitals Friday night, according to the California Highway Patrol.

July 20, 2002

Detroit Free Press, "Crush Zone: Cops consider bladders for Crown Victoria fuel"

The recent death of a police officer in Arizona has several police departments around the country looking to install protective bladders in the fuel tanks of their Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor cars.
The departments don't want to wait for Ford Motor Co. tests to determine a liner could prevent fuel leakage and fires after high-speed read-end collisions and should be installed in hundreds of thousands of Crown Victoria police cars.

July 3, 2002

The Oregonian, "Firm stops using vans in deadly crash's wake"

Grayback Forestry, the Oregon-based contractor whose five firefighters died in a rollover crash last month in Colorado, has temporarily suspended the use of extended passenger vans to haul crews to fires.
The extended vans have been cited by the NHTSA in Washington, D.C., as having roll-over rates three times that of regular vans.

Summer, 2002

Journal of Emergency Medical Services, "Loaded wheelchair vans susceptible to rollover"

The NHTSA has issued a warning to users of 15-passenger vans, such as wheelchair vans, because of an increased rollover risk under certain conditions.

The results of a recent analysis by NHTSA revealed 15-passenger vans have a rollover risk similar to other light trucks and vans when carrying a few passengers. However, the rollover risk increases dramatically as the number of occupants increases.

April 25, 2002

Daily Princetonian, "NHTSA issues new findings on safety of 15-person vehicles"

The NHTSA reissued an advisory warning, alerting consumers to an increased rollover risk of 15-passenger vans. The University frequently uses the vans to transport athletes and volunteers.
Last summer, there were several rollover crashes involving religious groups on trips.

April 10, 2002

Associated Press, "Government warns of rollover risk in 15-seat vans"

The NHTSA said Monday that 15-passenger vans have a high rollover risk when fully loaded and should be operated only by experienced drivers.
NHTSA issued the rare consumer advisory after finding the vans are three times more likely to roll over when carrying 10 or more passengers than when carrying a lighter load.

February 15, 2002

Times Higher Education Supplement, "Tank slappers and the way to avoid them"

A potentially fatal phenomenon that has been haunting motorcyclists for decades could soon become history.

Although he was just 30 seconds into the race, Paul Orritt's Honda Fireblade was touching 150 mph as it crested Bray Hill. A highly experienced rider, Orritt was looking forward to almost two hours of trouble-free, high-speed racing in the 1999 Manx Grand Prix. But as he guided his bike smoothly around the gentle bend that led down into the hill, his plans came to a violent end.

Without warning, the front wheel started to thrash from side to side and Orritt found himself battling just to stay on. Bikers call it a "tank slapper" because the handlebars suddenly seem intent on battering the fuel tank into submission.

February 4, 2002

Wall Street Journal, "Goodyear Plans to Replace Tires on Light Trucks"

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plans to voluntarily replace about 200,000 light-truck tires of the same model that it says have been linked to 11 deaths in accidents involving tread separations. More...