Personal Injury Articles

Madison Personal Injury Lawyer

The Dangers of 15-Passenger Vans

Fifteen passenger vans are frequently in the news for their involvement in horrific accidents. Each year, they contribute to a large number of deaths among adults and children. These vans are particularly dangerous as they are used by a wide variety of organizations to move people. Everyone from churches to day care groups use these vans to move their charges.

Although everyone recognizes the risks of SUVs and trucks in rollover accidents, these vans roll at a much higher frequency than either of those two vehicle groups. Fifteen passenger vans roll more frequently because they have a high center of gravity and a narrow track width. In addition, the structure of the vans places a lot of weight, when loaded, at the back of the van. This shifts the center of gravity up and back, rather than towards the middle. This one key feature contributes a lot to their propensity to roll.

In addition to the high center of gravity, the vans don’t necessarily have the best steering and handling. Because of these features, the driver can easily lose control of

the van. This amounts to the van frequently moving off of the road. Once the van leaves the surface of the road, studies show it rolls at a very high frequency. Once the van overturns, the passengers are exposed to greater hazards than they would be exposed to in other vehicles. For starters, there is an overall lack of structural integrity which would prevent the passenger compartment from collapsing. In addition, there is not a lot of padding to protect passengers when they come into contact with hard portions of the van. Furthermore, they vans lack emergency exits and other traffic safety features that come standard on other vehicles. These features make fifteen passenger vans moving death traps.

If you have been injured as a passenger in a fifteen passenger van, please contact the Madison fifteen passenger van accident attorneys of Habush Habush & Rottier at 1-800-822-1690 to discuss your case and to determine your legal options.