Safety concerns and crash data for Class A's?

[lss177]

So, looking at a Class A, but concerned about the crash safety of the driver/passenger cell of a Class A. With no passive restraints (air bags) and no formal crash testing, it's tough to convince the wife that we should go Class A instead of Class C.

Is there any data that shows that any particular Class A manufacturer is "better" than others when it comes to the "safety cell" for driver/passenger?

Fyi, we're looking at late-model gas coaches, 32 feet or so.

[Ralph_Cramden]

ROBERTSUNRUS wrote:
🙂 Hi, concerned about crash tests on a class "A" motorhome seems silly when so many of them are towing a smart car, Saturn, or any of the other little sh*t boxes of cars. This is what they drive when they get to their location. :S

Ya might get a big surprise if you compare the safety test results and ratings of a 2000 Navigator to some of those little sh*t boxes Bob LOL :S

[Cloud_Dancer]

People simply do not take care of themselves, they let themselves go. They engage in all sorts of dangerous activity. They also, wittingly or unwittingly, place themselves in very dangerous environments. I'm guilty of it myself, and have known many people like myself. Therefore, I look at driving my motorhome as one of the safest things I've ever done. I think in terms of all that I'm in control of.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

🙂 Hi, concerned about crash tests on a class "A" motorhome seems silly when so many of them are towing a smart car, Saturn, or any of the other little sh*t boxes of cars. This is what they drive when they get to their location. :S

[wallynm]

I suggest at most any speed above 40 MPH in a head on crash that most of the driver and passenger compartment will moved forward and every thing that is not tied down will be littered all around you after you come to a stop. Will you be killed or injured - I am betting yes.

[Gjac]

T18skyguy wrote:

I've also never considered the Boeing 737 I climb into every week to commute for work very survivable in a crash either, but I still do it for some reason.

This gave me a chuckle. I'm a pilot, but I have always known there's not a lot of sense in getting into an aluminum tube, 30,000 feet in the air, and going 600 mph. But we accept the risk. Overdrive magazine interviewed a retiring trucker who received an award for 3 million miles with no tickets or accident. They asked what the most important thing you can do for safety. His reply was " If you drive just a bit slower than the rest of traffic, it will open a large gap in front of you. That gap is a lifeline" That's something we can do. There's always going to be risk. If we don't accept it, and stay at home in our recliners, now they say that is as bad as smoking. So there's risk in just staying home too so we might as well enjoy life.

These are thoughtful posts. Once you realize that just living life has risks involved the question really becomes what is your risk tolerance. The data that I have seen is that there are on average 26,000 people killed each year on our roads in cars, about 26 per year in MH's. If you normalize it for miles driven 3 times more people die in cars than MH's. Off course air travel is much safer and fewer people get killed by sharks also, but many people won't fly due to fear of crashes or scuba dive because of sharks. If you look closer at what causes these fatalities you will see alcohol makes up 1/3 of these numbers, youthful drivers and rural roads vs urban roads make up a large percent also. I think most MH drivers are older, don't drink and drive and do more hiway driving rather than rural roads increasing there odds of a safe trip. Having said that facts or data means little when someone has fear of something. My wife has always been fearful of MH travel especially on mountainous roads. Coming back from a trip out west in 2017 I had a ball joint failure coming around a sharp corner at 60 mph in MT. When the ball joint failed and the tire blew I thought the MH was going to flip over, fortunately the MH stayed upright. The accident was caused by a shop putting in the wrong ball joint the previous year. After spending $5,000 and competently rebuilding the front end, no amount of logic or data could convince her to take another trip, so my days of MH travel are over. So my advice is do what ever makes your wife more comfortable. On edit we have not gone on a scuba diving trip since we bought the MH 15 years ago and she informed me that we were too old now, my grand son wanted to learn how to dive so she agreed to go and she had a good time she even dove with sharks again. Sometimes wives will listen to others before their own husbands.

[daveB110]

After driving a 30 foot gasser A around for 15 years (same one) and putting on over 100,000 miles (and about 20,000 in Mexico) I have enjoyed the drive. No accidents, never hit anyone and nobody ever hit me. Lucky. One day I found myself in a sudden snow storm, with, like practically all other Class A's, no grippy tires, there was a slight downhill to the next town, and the semi trucks hadn't slowed a bit coming towards us. I knew we'd be toast if I slid. But I didn't. Quickly found a place to park while it snowed a foot and a half, on April Fools Day. Not safe, but they're enjoyable when you keep accident free.

[Cloud_Dancer]

I'm a retired commercial pilot, and have never stepped into an airliner ever since. Go figure. I love driving a large diesel pusher. IMO it helps keep me young, what with having to avoid all the substandard drivers. Actually, I'm a pretty good profiler. I've yet to find the measure of being over-confident.

[T18skyguy]

I've also never considered the Boeing 737 I climb into every week to commute for work very survivable in a crash either, but I still do it for some reason.

This gave me a chuckle. I'm a pilot, but I have always known there's not a lot of sense in getting into an aluminum tube, 30,000 feet in the air, and going 600 mph. But we accept the risk. Overdrive magazine interviewed a retiring trucker who received an award for 3 million miles with no tickets or accident. They asked what the most important thing you can do for safety. His reply was " If you drive just a bit slower than the rest of traffic, it will open a large gap in front of you. That gap is a lifeline" That's something we can do. There's always going to be risk. If we don't accept it, and stay at home in our recliners, now they say that is as bad as smoking. So there's risk in just staying home too so we might as well enjoy life.

[tropical36]

lss177 wrote:
So, looking at a Class A, but concerned about the crash safety of the driver/passenger cell of a Class A. With no passive restraints (air bags) and no formal crash testing, it's tough to convince the wife that we should go Class A instead of Class C.

Is there any data that shows that any particular Class A manufacturer is "better" than others when it comes to the "safety cell" for driver/passenger?

Fyi, we're looking at late-model gas coaches, 32 feet or so.

And while you and others, with these same concerns, very well could be driving a little car for a DD and for a toad, as well.
Let's face it, getting out there on the highway these days in anything, is one of the most dangerous undertakings, that one can possible do and will probably be looked at, as unbelievable in a hundred years or much less. Probably on parallel with going into space with the first rocket launches.
Back to today's reality's, IMO, the Class A bus look, is king, both inside and out and would never drive something that looks like an afterthought. Besides you need a large windshield for viewing America and beyond.

[ferndaleflyer]

OK--At 78 I am near that age. I think with the trailer I am 72ft, don't know what I weigh, just up graded my drivers license, and drove to Palm Beach and back over New Years. 1500mi or so round trip. As for myself I have been driving over sized vehicles for 60+ years and doubt I'll be stopping for awhile. On the other hand many much younger than I should have never been allowed to drive in the first place.....so far I have never been involved in a accident in any of the motorhomes.

[Ralph_Cramden]

path1 wrote:

RV Crash Deaths Under Investigation
Lack Of Crash Tests For Luxury Motor Homes Blamed
Braking problems, collapsing walls and poorly secured cabinets: These are the RV industry's deadliest secrets.

But nothing about 85 yr old geezers barreling down the highway to Florida at 80mph in something that's 45' long, 13' high, and weighs in excess of 50K lbs and has the handling of a brick?

[Cloud_Dancer]

I'm not bragging on my ole Dutch Star. However, I will say that it's got one of the best safety features I've ever seen,....in the mirror I see myself..:B..:B
I've learned that a good/safe driver does not depend on fast reflexes. Most human reflexes are about the same. IMO safe drivers have the safe procedures already programmed in their brain. They immediately start the proper procedure automatically. I learned this from lots of experience driving fast racecars, and flying high performance jet aircraft.
In a motorhome IMO a controlled glancing blow is more survivable than a head-on crash.

[Mile_High]

I've never considered the Class A to be very safe. It isn't the head-on that worries me as much as laying it down and then hitting something stationary like a guard rail or bridge.

I've also never considered the Boeing 737 I climb into every week to commute for work very survivable in a crash either, but I still do it for some reason.

[Rick_Jay]

lss177,

Here's a link to a Forum Post I made a little while ago explaining why you DO NOT WANT air bags on a large vehicle.

The bottom line is I feel safer driving my Class A gasser than any other passenger vehicle on the road. In a collision, mass is your friend. I have confidence in my driving ability and I am a very defensive driver.

The safety issue of Class A's is pretty much a "non-issue" in my opinion.

Buy what you want because it FITS your intended needs. Drive safely and ENJOY LIFE! 🙂

~Rick

[Two_Jayhawks]

I have safety concerns as well about motorhomes I always have. However I'm still enjoying RVing. I don't think about safety when I'm driving my car but I sure do when driving the coach. My concerns keep me from driving faster than 60-65 mph, pushed me to using a TPMS, avoid major metro areas at peak times, etc. There is a lot one can do to minimize your exposure to an unsafe situation. But if a more crash worthy vehicle is what you seek both bus conversions & truck conversions will likely hold up better in an accident.