> The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash > tested one of our beloved bricks at 35 mph head-on into a fixed barrier. > Actually that's not a very good test. You will find that there are very few fixed > barriers getting in your way.
An '85 Westy I bought for parts last year had just such an accident - it went through a building at about 40 mph. The van was totaled, but the driver/passenger area was completely untouched. The crumple zones worked exactly as designed, and the driver "walked away" with nothing more than bruises. The building, however, didn't fare so well - it was closed for nearly a month. Let's not kid ourselves; a modern vehicle with front and side airbags, etc. is probably much safer than a Vanagon in a major collision. But I'd rather be in my Vanagon in the event of such a collision than almost any passenger car of its vintage. -Ron Salmon The Bus Depot http://www.busdepot.com |
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