Transportation Vans are often considered to be one of the most economical means of travelling when there is a big group of passengers which is too big for car travels and not so big a crowd to go for a bus travel. In such cases, the 15-passenger vans come into the picture for which agencies offer lucrative prices. But these 15 passenger vans have a bad record of fatal accidents as in many cases the agencies show many pitfalls in taking precautionary measures and defy the driving rules. Sometimes these vans get over loaded and cause disasters.
Reasons behind such disasters could be many among which one could be the greed of the agencies to stuff more people than allowed, or not having enough funding to incorporate latest safety features in the vans.
Here are some basic rules shared by the Seaside VW dealer, for the 15-passenger van drivers and agencies, following which passengers could reach their destinations safely enjoying the ride with confidence and assurance.
Preparation Before the Drive
Before starting for the journey there are a few things to check without fail to ensure a safe driving experience. Here are those:
- Make sure all the passengers have worn their seat belts.
- Not to carry any more passengers than the number of seatbelts allotted in the vehicle.
- Place and arrange all the luggage carefully
- Avoid using the edge of the rear-most storage area.
- Check for the blind spots from all sides of the vehicle.
- Check for the Department of Vehicle services for any special licensing and proper training certificates of the drivers.
While Loading the Vehicle:
The thumb rule for checking out before loading the Passenger Van are the following:
- Verifying if the van is properly loaded and not overloaded.
- Checking out the tire pressures for installing proper inflation for each of them.
- Not loading objects on the top of the van as this increases the chance of a rollover.
- If lesser number of people are travelling, they should occupy front seats of the rear axle.
- Do not allow trailer attachments.
Driving Safety Tips:
Drivers of passenger vans need to follow certain rules for the safety of all. Here are the things to be strictly followed as instructed by the Seaside Volkswagen dealer:
- For every 400 miles there should be one certified driver.
- There should not be any continuous travel for more than eight hours.
- Make sure the driver to get rest for one hour for every two to three consecutive hours of driving.
- Drivers should not drive between 12:00 am and 6:00 am, without a special permission.
Additional Safety Tips for Travel:
The passenger van vehicles have different design features than other vehicles. The elongated shape, the heavy weight when fully loaded, and a higher center of gravity all combine to make driving more difficult and assume full control during emergency situations and in certain hostile weather conditions.
A 15-passenger van requires a bit of more time to accelerate, take a turn and to stop. The Steering and brake maneuvering at highway become more precarious, so speed should be picked up gradually and in a smoother fashion to minimize the large weight shifts which is one of the main reasons of losing control.