MOST minibus seat belts are more likely to tear a hole in the floor of
the vehicle than save the life of a child in a serious accident, according to
the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA). As a result, new British
regulations designed to save schoolchildren鈥檚 lives by making seat belts
compulsory will be virtually useless.
Almost all minibuses are converted vans. Most of the coachbuilders who do
these conversions 鈥渄on鈥檛 appreciate the loads involved鈥�, says Mike Dickison of
MIRA, who has led research projects investigating the strength of minibus seat
belt anchorages, sponsored by Renault and Mercedes.
Coachbuilders normally attach seat belts so that the rear fixing of the seat
is also the anchorage for the belt. The floor of a typical van is around 1
millimetre thick, and seats are normally fixed with a simple washer, or a steel
plate up to 10 millimetres thick. MIRA has found that when subjected to the
45-kilonewton force demanded by a European Union directive on seat belt
anchorages, the washer or strengthening plate just tears a hole in the
floor.
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There are about 9000 minibuses on the road in Britain, according to the
Department of Transport, many of which are used for carrying children to school
or taking them on outings. Following a series of highly publicised accidents
involving minibuses in the early 1990s, the government drafted regulations
making it compulsory for all minibuses built since 1988 that regularly carry
children to have belts.
These regulations come into effect in February 1997. But this will not make
the vehicles any safer. 鈥淔rankly, we were less than impressed,鈥� says Mike
Thompson, a senior manager with Renault UK.
New vehicles require 鈥渢ype approval鈥�, in which a variety of items, including
seat belt anchorages, are tested on each new model of car or van. Type approval
represents a clean bill of health for every vehicle of that model. But minibus
conversions do not need type approval.
The only safeguard against substandard minibus seat belt anchorages is the
vigilance of the Department of Transport鈥檚 vehicle inspectors鈥攁nd Dickison
says that few are expert enough to know when an anchorage spreads the load
adequately. 鈥淭he real issue is that most inspectors are trained to look at
condition and not design,鈥� he says.
As a result of MIRA鈥檚 research, Renault now sells a version of its van with
floors that have been re-engineered to take the loads exerted in an accident.
Only four coachbuilding firms are licensed by Renault to do the conversion, and
the completed minibus costs between 拢22 000 and 拢24 000. Most
coachbuilders can undercut this price by buying any van and employing someone
for half a day鈥攁t about 拢5 an hour鈥攖o drill holes in its
floor.
鈥淭he biggest pitfall is the failure of the government to institute a
licensing system for the seat belt installation companies,鈥� says Pat Harris,
national organiser of Belt-up School Kids, a pressure group formed in response
to earlier minibus accidents.
The Department of Transport is not planning to do this. But in a few weeks鈥�
time it will be issuing guidance for minibus users, a spokesman says. 鈥淎nd that
will have something to say about anchorages.鈥�
