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Click Here 44 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, February 23, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 15, 2004 Mechanic pushes safety for 15-passenger vans If you go What: Free talk on van safety by Tom Dalessandri of Colorado Protective Services. When: 7 p.m. Monday. Where: First Baptist Church, 2004 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland. For more information: phone Mike’s Muffler Advantage at 482-8177. By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Pointing out that 15-passenger vans are vulnerable to roll-overs, especially when carrying more than 10 passengers or when the rear seat is loaded, one local mechanic has been retrofitting them to make them safer. Much of the problem, said Mike Caplinger, owner of Mike’s Muffler Advantage, is that van rear axles need to be widened to match the "track" of the front axle. They also need stronger springs and suspension and the tires need to be at full pressure. The vans have a high center of gravity and are three times more likely to roll in a single-vehicle crash than other vehicles, Caplinger said. That’s mainly because the groups who use them often load the rear ends, adding to the momentum if the back end whips around, he noted. To spread awareness, Caplinger is sponsoring a free talk on van safety Monday in Ashland. He has retrofitted one van from Ashland’s First Baptist Church with a wider wheel base and installed beefier suspension and springs, along with air caps on tires that are green but turn red when they have low pressure. Advertisement A retrofit starts at $350 but can go much higher, depending on the vehicle — and it comes with no guarantee the van still won’t roll if subjected to sudden turns with too much ballast, he said. Caplinger’s efforts follow the rollover last summer of a 15-passenger van from Ashland Christian Fellowship, which killed Jessyca Tahlor Newmann, 15, of Talent and seriously injured several other girls. The van, which crashed near Sacramento on the way back from a Mexico missionary trip, was fully loaded with passengers and was being driven through the night without appropriate sleep stops. It went off the right shoulder and flipped in response to overcorrection, according to the California Highway Patrol. The church no longer uses the 15-passenger vans, said driver Jeremy Hascall. First Baptist Church pastor Don Baldrica said the accident prompted his church to remove the back seat, which also allows the church to qualify for lower insurance rates. The church, which makes the same Mexico missionary trips, set up strict van rules: no overnight driving, no more than three hours at the wheel at a time, mandatory six hours’ rest with minimum three-hours’ sleep between shifts. The retrofitted van, Baldrica added, is visibly wider in the rear tires and the bumper is "much firmer." To spread the van safety message, Caplinger is hosting a talk by Tom Dalessandri of Colorado Protective Services on Monday evening at the Baptist Church. Dalessandri will speak on the need for drivers to learn defensive driving skills especially suited for the long vans. "You have to watch the road much farther ahead than usual, drive slower than you think, especially on curvy, narrow rural roads, avoid any sudden maneuvers and definitely don’t use unrested drivers," said Caplinger. Drivers need to train not to do "panic overcorrections" in reaction to minor stimuli, such as one wheel edging off the road, according to Dalessandri’s Web site, www.coloradoprotectiveservices.com . If there is enough interest, Dalessandri will conduct a two-day van defensive driving seminar, with lecture the first day and driving drills the second day. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times