Van policy being revised after volleyball team accident
In the wake of the men’s volleyball team van accident in Wyoming, among other things, Utah State University is in a transition of its policy on 15-passenger vans.
“We have overwhelming evidence that the 15-passenger vans are not safe,” said Fred Hunsaker, vice president of Administrative Affairs.
In a matter of about two days, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the USU risk manager released reports on the lack of safety and the number of accidents of 15-passenger vans respectively.
Through university experience and these two reports, Hunsaker said this was something that could not be ignored.
For the time being, the university is operating in an interim program. A fleet of seven-passenger vans is being used in their place at a comparable price. The 15-passenger vans are only being used by drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Employees of facility services are being used to drive on day trips; otherwise, departments are using two smaller vans in place of one large one.
John Pappas, director of facilities of USU Support Services, said the CDL is training in operating large vehicles, like loaders and buses.
“We felt anyone possessing that certification would be aware” of specific problems with large vehicles with a high center of gravity, like the vans, Pappas said.
“No one was turned away from their travel plans last week,” Pappas said.
Over the next week to 10 days, however, Pappas and the university will be working on a permanent solution to the current roadblock.
Pappas said in making phone calls and some research, he found a program created by the NHTSA specifically geared to the vans.
“I wanted to put some strong validity into this. We are pursuing that direction,” Pappas said.
The program is designed to train drivers in driving this type of vehicle in order to make them aware of extra precautions that need to be taken.
Hunsaker said the program will greatly reduce the risk of drivers and passengers, be convenient in time and cost and meet the requirements of the NHTSA.
Although the specifics of the program are not yet in place, Pappas said drivers will be trained in various conditions and to handle unexpected circumstances both in the classroom and on the road.
Dangers involved with 15-passenger vans come because of the length of the vehicle and the high center of gravity, Pappas said.
According to NHTSA’s report “The Rollover Propensity of 15-passenger Vans,” a study that spanned seven states, including Utah, vans with 10 passengers or more had triple the rollover rate in a single vehicle crash of vans with fewer than 10.
Pappas said stopping distances, changing lanes and driving in wind are different in a large van than in a car or even a minivan. He said these are some of the characteristics of 15-passenger vans that will be addressed in the course.
Rumors that the university was going to sell the vans are false; the objective is to instill safe use of the vans, not elimination, Hunsaker said.
The university has 25 vans, which last year were all rented out every week. Pappas said this time of year there are a lot of trips, and many times the vans are gone every day.
“Their usage is very important to a lot of departments,” Pappas said.
The vans are the main source of transportation for athletic teams like golf, softball and track, as well as for cheerleaders and other clubs, Pappas said.
Now, however, they are all lined up and not going anywhere.
In the past two weeks, the university has been all too aware of the problem with the vans.
“It did kind of sneak up on us and hit us hard,” Hunsaker said. “They all came – bing, bing, bing! What wasn’t obvious before became very obvious.”
Pappas said he anticipates the university will have looked over the proposed program by this week, and then it will be sent on to the state risk manager.
“We’re in somewhat of an emergency mode,” Hunsaker said, but there are plans for a more permanent procedure.
Right now, Facilities is working on a “trip-by-trip” basis, Pappas said.