USU provides certification class for 15-passenger van drivers
Utah State University’s 15-passenger vans are not gone, nor forgotten, nor likely to be taken out of service at the university.
Last year, four members of USU’s club volleyball team were involved in a traffic accident while traveling to a tournament in Wyoming. The 15-passenger van lost control and left one of the team members in a coma. As a result of the accident, USU has provided training for 15-passenger van drivers.
John Pappas, director of Support Services at USU oversees campus recycling, surplus sales and the university’s motor pool of about 700 vehicles. Pappas has been serving on the State Committee of Natural Resources and Safety for four years overseeing the Utah State vehicle fleet.
“Vehicles are challenging,” Pappas said.
USU has one of the largest vehicle leases in the state, Pappas said.
“Right now, we’re making rules into laws,” he said, referring to rules that were implemented at USU as a result of the accident involving the volleyball team.
The same types of rules have been adopted at other universities in Utah as well as on the state level, Pappas said.
After the accident, the first decision taken by USU was to take 15-passenger vans completely out of service. Pappas called the National Safety Council to inquire about a driver training program. He was informed of a program called Van Trainer 2, designed specifically for 15-passenger vans.
The program was mailed to Pappas, who sent it to the Bridgerland Applied Technology College (BATC). Training began at BATC, and now there are more than 350 people at USU trained to drive the vans.
Training consists of three to four hours of classroom instruction and two to three hours of driving.
“They are tested in various conditions,” Pappas said. “They are trained with a full load, a half load, speeds, turns and on the freeway.”
As a result, USU was the only university with a training program qualified for 15-passenger vans, Pappas said.
“Then we tried to put a show on the road,” Pappas said.
Following Logan and USU training programs, the next organization trained was Extension and Continuing Educations.
Alden Erickson, Aggie Shuttle supervisor, is a certified instructor for applicants obtaining a Commercial Drivers License – meaning a qualified person on campus is certifying drivers. The state correctional department will train 45 officers to drive their 55 15-passenger vans using the same training program.
“The state is going to require the state motor pool to train people to be trainers,” Pappas said. “The director of the state shuttle drivers called and said, ‘I want my people trained,'” Pappas said. All state shuttle drivers at the capitol drive 15-passenger vans as far as Point of the Mountain in the Salt Lake Valley.
USU can’t get rid of the vans because of the cost factor involved. The vans would have to be replaced by buses which would be more expensive, Pappas said.
“We’ve had no accidents,” Pappas said. “People are now familiar with the 15-passenger van and its uniqueness. When you become aware, you become safer.”
Pappas feels good USU took this kind of lead. The number of trained students, departments and faculty will increase. Positive comments have come back from the students, Pappas said. “Students say there is a difference,” he said.