Seattle 15 Passenger Van Accident Attorneys
Large vehicles can often be difficult to maneuver, especially when those vehicle are inherently dangerous to begin. 15-passenger vans are long, have a propensity for rolling over, and provide little protection to passengers in the event of an accident. There are a number of characteristics of 15-passenger vans that make them unsafe to drive and be a passenger in.
15-passenger vans have a high propensity for rolling over. According to the United States Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 15-passenger vans were involved in 1,576 fatal crashes from 1990 to 2002, with 1,111 fatalities resulting from those crashes. Of the total crashes, 349 of said crashes resulted in the 15-passenger van rolling over. Rolling over occurs simply because a vehicle, in this case the 15-passenger van, has a high center of gravity, and either takes a turn too quickly or suddenly changes lanes, causing the weight at the top of the vehicle to overpower the stability that the vehicle’s wheel base has provided. Simply stated, 15-passenger vans are much too tall in comparison to the width that their wheel base provides. Factor in shifting passenger and/or cargo weight in a 15-passenger van, and you have a vehicle that is very likely to rollover in the event of even a minor accident.
Many 15-passenger vans either do not have seatbelts, or the passengers inside fail to use them. Often times, 15-passenger vans are more closely associated with school buses, and passengers therefore assume that, like a bus, seatbelts are not a requirement. Sadly, the NHTSA reports that "only 14 percent of the fatally injured occupants were properly restrained" in 15-passenger van accidents that occurred from the year 1990 to the year 2002. Many schools and other organizations that are centered-around child care, such as summer camps, choose to utilize these vans rather than passenger cars because of the conveyance of how many passengers they can accommodate. However, it should be realized that drivers of these vans, though they are not technically required to hold a different class of license and/or pass any sort of official driving test to be able to drive 15-passenger vans, are often times inexperienced in maneuvering a vehicle of such length.
Manufacturers of 15-passenger vans have a responsibility to improve vehicle design to ensure that vans are safe to drive and that passengers are provided every chance of surviving a crash. Organizations that utilize 15-passenger vans for transport have the responsibility of providing experienced drivers whom have an intimate knowledge of the capabilities and debilitations that plague 15-passenger vans. In the event of an accident, the Seattle 15-passenger van rollover attorneys at the Bernard Law Group will expose the negligence that caused your accident, regardless of where that negligence stemmed from. Call us today for a free evaluation of your case, and our knowledgeable attorneys will examine every detail of your case to ensure that your rights as a passenger are not trampled upon, and may even be able to recover monetary compensation for your hospital bills, physical therapy costs, or even lost wages. Please contact us today.
IF YOU, OR A LOVED ONE, HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY INJURED IN A TACOMA 15 PASSENGER VAN ACCIDENT - CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION!
