SPECIAL STUDY
Adopted: March 22, 1979
SAFETY OF MULTIPURPOSE VANS 
NTSB Number: HSS-79/01
NTIS Number: PB-294789/AS
SYNOPSIS
During 1977, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 740 persons had died in highway accidents in vans. In 1977, the National Transportation Safety Board reported- that 655 persons died in air carrier accidents, 653 died in railroad accidents, 43 died in pipeline accidents, and 216 died in commercial marine accidents. Thus, in 1977, fatalities in vans exceeded the total fatalities in several major transportation modes.

Since 1970, the sales of multipurpose vans have increased threefold. Vans are popular because of their versatility; outdoorsmen, small businessmen, service technicians, and the "weekend vanner" are using vans for personal transportation business operations, and weekend outings. In fact, in the near future, vans are expected to replace the station wagon. Many owners have customized the interiors of their vans with sinks, bars, refrigerators, beds, and paneling to make them more convenient. Currently, there are no standards or voluntary specifications on how to install these types of items to the van structure. As a result, in a crash environment, they of ten break loose and injure or kill the van occupants.

Further, several existing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) do not apply to vans. These include Standards 201, 202, 203, 204, 212, 214, 215, and 216. Since vans are now being used as pleasure cars by a large segment of the general public, many standards applicable to pleasure cars should be made applicable to vans as well. Van occupants should be afforded the same level of safety available to passenger car occupants.

The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated 18 low-to-moderate speed crashes involving vans to collect data for this study. We have evaluated the safety of vans from the following standpoints: Injury-producing environments, occupant restraints, crashworthiness, postcrash fires, and ease or difficulty of escape. In addition, the Safety Board has evaluated the standards listed above as they affect each of the five main areas of investigation.

The Safety Board undertook the study (1) to determine the injurious effects of custom interior furnishings and structural modifications to custom vans based on actual accident experience, and (2) to determine the injurious effects of customized vans on occupants because certain existing FMVSS's do not apply to vans.

On July 6, 1978, the General Accounting Office issued its report on 'Unwarranted Delays by the Department of Transportation to Improve Light Truck Safety (CED-78-119)," which cited insufficient accident data to identify possible problems in individual vehicle standard areas. Since the GAO had no actual crash data available, it analyzed existing FMVSS's by using laboratory crash test results and by interviewing industry officials and NHTSA engineers. Both groups agreed that laboratory tests do not represent "real world" crash experience. In the study, the Administrator of NHTSA was quoted as stating, "Data is not available to support a finding that this standard (FMVSS-216) would meet the safety need as applied to light trucks and MPV'S. The agency is continuously seeking any significant patterns of safety problems that may exist with these vehicle classes in rollover crashes, and stands ready to take appropriate rulemaking actions." The Board recognizes that the data from 18 accidents are insufficient to derive statistically valid conclusions. Nevertheless, the Safety Board believes that the data presented in the following study will be extremely useful to the NHTSA, which plans to begin rulemaking action on standards for light trucks and vans.

RECOMMENDATIONS

As a result of this Special Study, the National Transportation Safety Board reiterated, a recommendation previously made to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association and extends that recommendation to vans:

"Conduct an engineering study through Its membership to determine the best methods of securing appliances in recreational vehicles and amend the Standard for Recreational Vehicles (AII9.2) to specify these methods (H-76-8).”
The Safety Board further recommended that the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association:

"Conduct an engineering study through its membership to determine the best methods of securing furnishings, such as custom beds, seats, couches, and paneling, and amend the Standard for Recreational Vehicles (AL19.2) to specify these methods. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-79- ).”

-- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

"In its on-going and planned investigation of van accidents:

Study the failures of custom highback bucket seats and anchorage systems to determine if they pose a significant injury or safety problem requiring action.

Study the failures of custom steering wheels which do not meet FMVSS - 203 to determine whether they pose a significant injury or safety problem.

Study the extent to which doors jam in collisions to determine if corrective action is needed to prevent ejection and enhance escape.

Determine if FMVSS's 203 and 204 (steering wheel and steering column) should be extended to all classes of vans or if new requirements are needed for vans.

Determine feasibility of extending FMVSS-212 to all classes of vans. (Class II, Priority Action) (H-79-14)."

"Intensify its study to explore the feasibility of extending the passive restraint requirements of FMVSS 208 to all classes of vans. (Class I, Urgent Action) (H-79-15)"

"Specify, in rulemaking action on FMVSS 206-Door Locks and Door Retention, a requirement for a locking mechanism on cargo-type doors that can be operated from the interior of the vehicle (Class II, Priority Action) (H-79-16).

"Include in its exploratory rulemaking and research activity control of crash aggressiveness of vans in relation to other vehicles (Class II, Priority Action) (H-79-17)."