15 Passenger Vans Do’s and Dont's

Many companies in the entertainment industry use 15 passenger vans. These vehicles are very effective in transporting people and equipment from studios to locations. There is a ongoing risk that I want to make you aware of; 15 passenger vans have one of the highest accident rates among all vehicles in the US.

During a 10 year period 2000-10, there were over 1512 fatal crashes involving 15 passenger vans.  Over 600 were single-vehicle accidents, and most of these were rollover accidents. Here are the issues that led to these accidents:

• The vans were not designed to accommodate 15 passengers and related cargo.
• Some vans had added luggage racks which added weight and contributed to accidents.
• The tires on 15 passengers vans seem to wear faster and become under-inflated causing poor steering and control issues.
• Adding passengers and cargo causes the center of gravity to move upward and rearward, increasing the potential for the driver to lose control and increasing a vehicle’s tendency to roll over.

What You Can Do

• Be aware of tire pressure
• Don’t overload the van
• Consider removing the rear seat
• Wear seat belts!  Keep all seat belts accessible and require that all passengers use them
• Do not overload 15-passenger vans, and do not use a roof rack or strap on cargo to the
• back of the van. As the weight inside a van increases, so does the van’s propensity to roll over
• Limit capacity to no more than 10 people
• Don’t tow anything behind the van
• For long distance trips, drivers should rotate every two hours