OhMyNews reports that 10 Koreans — six men, three women and a young child — were killed in a car car accident in the Philippines.
The victims, two missionaries residing in the country and eight visiting church members, were traveling around when their speeding bus ran off the road on a curve.
Condolences go out to the families.
12 Comments
Wonder how many were wearing seatbelts?
Was the child wearing a child restraint?
These people are “victims”, victims of what?
Uh . . . victims of an accident, perhaps??
(Do buses in the Philippines usually have seatbelts?)
@Austin
I’m going to go ahead and guess a car accident.
@skindleshanks & robert
The Korean article uses the word 승합차, which is a van (one of those huge, long ones that seats like 12 people, I’m guessing, like E-350).
A horrible accident. Condolences.
If it was an E350 that’s interesting because I rented one this summer (a
(15-passenger Ford van) and there was only one company (Budget) that rented
them out in Vancouver; the others said they no longer bothered because it
had a bad reputation for flipping over due to poor construction
or whatnot. And indeed, going around curves you could feel it
almost lose its balance very easily forcing me to slow down
real slow.
And I dug up this statement from US Nat’l Highway agency…
I can’t vouch for its being the original, but from the way it’s writtenit
it seems like the real thing.
NHTSA Restates Rollover Warning For Users of 15-Passenger Vans
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced new research that reinforces its existing rollover concerns about 15-passenger vans. As a result, NHTSA reissued its consumer advisory for users of 15-passenger vans for the third time in the past four years.
In a new research report related to improper tire maintenance on 15-passenger vans, the NHTSA study found that 74 percent of all 15-passenger vans had significantly mis-inflated tires. By contrast, 39 percent of passenger cars were found with significant inflation problems. NHTSA research has consistently shown that improperly inflated tires can change handling characteristics, increasing the prospect of a rollover crash in 15-passenger vans.
“The vans are convenient, but drivers and passengers have to use extra caution. The rollover risks associated with 15-passenger vans can be minimized if users take some basic safety precautions”, said Jeffrey Runge, M.D, NHTSA administrator. “Routinely checking the condition of the tires, including the tire pressure, should be at the top of the list”.
To reduce the rollover risks associated with 15-passenger vans, NHTSA’s safety advisory recommends that drivers insist all occupants wear safety belts at all times; drivers of 15-passenger are trained and experienced; tires are checked at least once a week, using the manufacturer’s recommended pressure levels; and no loads are placed on the roof of the vehicle.
Prior NHTSA research has shown that 15-passenger vans have a rollover risk that increases dramatically as the number of occupants increases from fewer than five to more than ten. In fact, 15-passenger vans (with 10 or more occupants) had a rollover rate in single vehicle crashes that is nearly three times the rollover rate of those that were lightly loaded (with fewer than five occupants).
Nearly 80 percent of those who died in 15-passenger van rollovers nationwide between 1990 and 2003 were not buckled up. Wearing safety belts dramatically increases the chances of survival during a rollover roof crush accident. In fatal, single-vehicle rollovers involving 15-passenger vans over the past decade, 91 percent of belted occupants survived.
During a trial, the families (of the victims) heard clearly that Ford would never issue a recall of the E-350 on its own. Ford, GM, and Dodge have no intention of ever fixing the existing 500,000 15-passenger vans on the road today. It is much cheaper for Ford to settle lawsuits than to do a recall of existing vans.
That’s not comforting at all. Practically every church I know (Korean or otherwise) around here uses E-350 for transporting their youth groups for whatever reasons.
Nearly 80 percent of those who died in 15-passenger van rollovers nationwide between 1990 and 2003 were not buckled up. Wearing safety belts dramatically increases the chances of survival during a rollover roof crush accident. In fatal, single-vehicle rollovers involving 15-passenger vans over the past decade, 91 percent of belted occupants survived.
Jeez, I hate when reporters make statistics hard to accurately interpret, whether for the sake of journalistic prose style or misleading effect. So 80% of dead were unbelted, and 91% of belted survive. That info could correspond to:
LIVE DIE
Belted 91 9
Unbelted 3 36
or
LIVE DIE
Belted 91 9
Unbelted 250 36
Pretty different implications there.
#4,
I drove a Ford Freestar for a month a couple of years back…It wasn’t much better. It was very unstable on dirt roads and wet asphalt. I nearly flipped it over a couple of times, and I’ve driven some very heavy vehicles, both on and off road, in my time. I’m no beginner driver.
“That’s not comforting at all. Practically every church I know (Korean or otherwise) around here uses E-350 for transporting their youth groups for whatever reasons.”
Actually, I find that quite comforting.
MrMao, you’re an ass.
Um… am I crazy, or did MrMao just reveled at the thought of church youth groups dying in car accidents?
That’s how I read it. That’s pretty hard-core hate. Maybe he and Elgin can yuck it up about Chinese people dying in earthquakes.