Bus is unsafe?

[tristessa]

Misleading subject line just to get attention from y'all, though it is somewhat related.

Anyone who thinks the VW Bus is unsafe in head-on collisions needs to take a look at this: http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22749-1783784,00.html. Scary.

.. thank <deity> that we aren't getting Chinese SUV's here in the US. ..

[Duncwarw]

I hear they're all over Europe.

SUV's, yechhh!

I like the <deity> thing.
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“To find yourself, think for yourself”
Socrates, 470 BC - 399 BC

[jtauxe]

“In our 20-year history no car has performed as badly.”
and yet...
“This car seems to belong in the 1990s in terms of engineering,”
I wonder how our beloved bays would fare. they're not even up to 1990's engineering standards...
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John
"Travelling in a fried-out Kombi, on a hippie trail, head full of zombie..." - Colin Hay and Ron Strykert
http://vw.tauxe.net
1969 Transporter, 1971 Westfalia, 1976, 1977, 1976, 1977, 1971, 1973, 1977 Westfalias,
1979 Champagne Sunroof, 1974 Westfalia Automatic, 1979 Transporter, 1972 Sportsmobile, 1973 Transporter Wild Westerner, 1974 Westfalia parts bus, 1975 Mexican single cab *FOR SALE*, 1978 Irish 4-door double cab RHD

[tristessa]

They would fare a lot better than that thing did. The '73-up Bays passed US crash-test standards for *passenger cars*. Quite a bit of the Bay nose-area design was re-used in the Vanagons, and those were still passing US crash-tests all the way up to '91, and probably would have continued to pass for several years if VW hadn't stopped selling them here. Passenger car standards are higher & tougher than light truck standards.

[Emily's Owner]

My understanding of many early US manufacture mini-vans, was that they slid by many safety measures as they didn't come under passenger car/light truck regulations - so that their crash ratings were below that of our busses - I could be wrong - but that's kind of scary seeing how many of those are still on the road.
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Xargaret

ITMC - OG Den Mother

What (and I cannot stress this enough) The Actual Fuck?!

1974 Transporter
2023 Subaru Outback

[nemobuscaptain]

>US manufacture mini-vans, was that they slid by many safety measures

Correct. The sold a few cargo vans so that the platform could be considered a truck. How many Caravan or Aerostar cargo vans have you seen in your life?

Due to tariffs placed on foreign trucks, VW classified the bus as a stationwagon (therefore a car) and thus was forced to meet all the passenger car standards for emissions and safety.
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RIP Bob Hoover https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=427791
Hoover Sermons: https://www.vwsage.com/images/vwsage/Bob%20Hoovers%20Sermons.pdf

[vwkombi1966]

the thing to rember is that our vehicles are OVER engineered. the german's put so much thought into the production and quality of their vehicles that they are still around today! there's actually quite a bit of space between your knees and the front of the bus. RUST is the worst obsticle that a bus has to over come, not front end collision. i've recently looked at a 68-70 microbus that took one HELL of a front end hit, and from the looks of it, the driver most likely walked away (if they were wearing their seat belt)....
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Aircooled VW: more expensive than CRACK!

- 1968 Squareback (Scarlett)
- 1969 Westy

[dwill49965]

This subject is also covered in the Baywindow FAQ by Ratwell under "How safe is the Baywindow?" with a couple of good pictures.

http://www.ratwell.com/technical/FAQ/FAQContent.html#0827
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Darryl
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'78 Westy, Boston Bob built 2.0 L, FI, MSD 6A

[Amskeptic]

I think the other aspect of safety that I appreciate with the VW bus, is its active avoidance ability. I have driven too many early Dodge/Ford/Chevy vans that fight your inputs, and react sluggishly. The Vanagon is the clear winner in active safety, a great road car that works with you.
Colin
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www.itinerant-air-cooled.com

[Bub]

A couple good points to think about as far as safety goes in a VW bus...
Crash standards are a different thing today than even the early / mid 90's when the vanagon went away.
The VW bus isn't very "safe" by todays standards, but they weren't built for todays driving conditions. They're engineering small cars to go up against Hummers and F350's in crash tests. Side and overhead impact beams, airbags everywhere they fit, nowadays you have to build the car around a roll cage or it'll suck in tests when they drive a "mid-size"truck over the top.
One major thing in the bus's favor (mixed blessing?) is that it has absolutely no redeeming performance or handling characteristics- it forces you into being a courteous and concious driver and to be aware of your surroundings.
Jump in any rice burner and you 'feel' like superman, though the car probably cant back you up. If anything, about every car manufactured these days is overpowered- does my mom need 260hp in her Subaroo wagon? Thus the need for "safer cars". We need safer drivers.
The flip side: They built them well. I've seen some pretty hammered VW busses, with little interior cabin deformation. A friend of mine was hit head on by a small truck at 55mph as he tried to get out of an intersection- the truck ? Totaled, driver in the hospital.
The bus? He drove it home.
I think the safety of a bus (and any vehicle) is due as much to the driver as the car.
out!
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[mikegoode]

73-up bays are fairly safe. I was in an accident with mine with a Nissan Altima. I needed a new front bumper, the Altima was totalled. Wouldn't want to tangle with a Suburban, but they were certainly far ahead of thier time.

[Emily's Owner]

I have a lot of faith in my bus, I drove into a ditch going 55 (got a tad distracted ), bounced the bus along on her passenger side the full length of the ditch, hit the end, bounced the bus back onto her feet as I careened across the side street and came to rest in the median.....a huge amount of cosmetic damage from the passenger headlight all the way back to the rear bumper. Structural damage to the frame or running gear? Nope. had the ditch been any shallower though, I'd've rolled her a couple of times.
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Xargaret

ITMC - OG Den Mother

What (and I cannot stress this enough) The Actual Fuck?!

1974 Transporter
2023 Subaru Outback

[steponmebbbboom]

[Bub]

[flyingCoyote]

A couple of years ago, I was driving a decrepit '85 GTI. Someone cut me off and I had to veer onto the grass shoulder going [[many]]mph. Car rotated 90 degrees, and started drifting back toward the pavement. Apparently some idiot hit the brakes on wet grass at high speed. Worst part is, he used MY foot.

Hit the pavement at maybe 60, sideways, flipped and rolled over at least half a dozen times. All outside surfaces were smashed, all corners rounded. It finally slid to a stop upside-down.

I was fine, just a little bruised where the seatbelt bit into me. My dog had gone flying out a window while we were rolling. My passenger was screaming bloody murder. I undid my seatbelt, expecting a semi to finish the job at any moment.

Yelled at my friend to get out, but he was in a total panic and blocking me from reaching his seatbelt. I suggested that the car might explode, and he came to his senses enough to unhook. Kicked my door open and we crawled out. My dog was wandering disoriented about 40 feet down the road, but was OK except for a bit of road rash.

Friend had the road rash too - right on top of his head! The sunroof was open, and he's pretty tall. Fortunately, even this small, rusty old VW was so well made that the roof barely compressed at all.

I think the dog would have been the only survivor in most small cars.

(Yes, I know, if I'd had a bus I never would have been driving like such an idiot in the first place)

[pyrOman]

[Stocknazi]

a bus is safer than they appear to be. a collission with a car might not be so bad, but all the tall suv's will do more damage. i have really come to hate suv's , and consequently the people that drive them that dont need too. hummers seem to be driven by rich smucks, and i really hate rich sumcks. sorry if this offended anybody
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