I just read this on iRV2 and thought I would pass it along. As I recall it was entitled "Another Sad Tire Failure Story" or something like that......one could add "......and seat belt non-use story".
Easy to see why nearly all the folks on Foreforums are so adamant about running good, fresh tires. Yup! Tires really are cheaper than bones........ and wearing a seat belt ain't a bad idea either.
No matter........'tis a sad story to read.
RV overturns, driver ejected in U.S. 33 crash (http://www.examiner.org/news/28551-rv-overturns-driver-ejected-in-us-33-crash)
Love to read this forum....even if I don't yet own a Foretravel.
Be safe. Ed S.
That story is one of the reasons you want to be driving a Foretravel!!! And that tire could have blown from hitting a piece of angle iron on the highway!! All kinds of highway debris on the highways today. Any number of reasons that could cause a tire to blow! Troopers said the minivan they were towing contributed to the crash!!! Thank goodness they all walked away. The female driver was admitted to the hospital for observation only because of her age, and previous medical conditions .
Lets also remember to "fasten those seatbelts!" As the story read, she was not wearing her seatbelt. Imagine being thrown out of your RV while overturning. I would fire a driver driving one of buses in our fleet without wearing a seal belt.
I've been hesitant to tell this true story because it is so horrific, but it has a good lesson. I heard this from my old boss who was well connected to the Prevost crowd. A couple was traveling in their conversion and came upon a construction zone. The driver (husband) hit a concrete barrier head on. The impact was so great that the DW (who was not buckled up) went through the windshield and the coach ran over her - she died instantly. It's hard to imagine the horror and shock for the husband. I don't know anymore details but if telling that story doesn't encourage someone to buckle up I don't know what will.
Anny,
What brought you to the IH from your 2010 Prevost?
Tim, we still have the 2010 Prevost. This unit is an entertainment coach and is now included with the other buses we have in our fleet. We wanted something more RV than a bus but with the qualities of a Prevost. We have several Prevost coaches in our fleet and they hold up quite well to all types of road conditions.
Buckled up, they probably would not have been hurt, Except for severe bruising from the seat belts,
But it is nice to know that our coaches wont crumple up and crush us if they do happen to roll over,
Seat belts are compulsory here,
5 or 6 feet drop from the front window, Will probably kill you, With out going through the windscreen first,
Either way, Its gonna Hurt,
I often tell my wife that my number one priority in any vehicle I drive is her safety. We don't move until she buckles her seatbelt.
Also, our auto insurance pays double for any injury expenses if that individual is buckled in.
My 09 Nimbus only has lap belts. We always use them. I think I would prefer to also have the shoulder belt. Does anyone know why it does not have a shoulder belt? Couple people have said that they were very uncomfortable. I think I could hit the steering wheel in an accident. Just wondering.
Roy
Roy, from 2007 and on, all units regardless of the style are required to have shoulder belts for the driver and passenger. If you are saying you do not have them for the driver or passenger seat, then you should call Foretravel to have them installed. Never heard of something like this.
Actually, I'm not sure Foretravel will retrofit coaches that weren't designed for shoulder harnesses. The liability that comes with safety belt installation is too great for most manufacturers to do it.
To reiterate the reason to use even lap belts, in the 70's I was a Paramedic and worked as an ER Tech. I could easily tell who had seat belts on when we received incoming crash victims. Many times the seat belt wearers walked in to the ER with minor injuries where the non-seat belt wearers came in on gurneys with very serious injuries. I have been wearing seat belts ever since. It just makes sense.
Are you the original owner?? If you're not, I wonder if the original owner may of had the seats replaced. That would possibily explain the lack of the shoulder part of the belt. But I was under the understanding that according to some federal law, one could not sell you seats as a replacement, if the seat harness system was different than the original seats in the coach. And I almost thought I had read that on this particular forum quite some time back.
Anny,
If you look at almost all the newer coaches, at least the ones with the residential-style passenger seat, those only have lap belts (and aren't designed for shoulder belts). It seems to be the standard seat and buyers have to request a model with a shoulder belt be installed if desired (I know of at least one spec coach where this was part of the deal - swap out the passenger seat for one with a shoulder belt).
Michelle
Michelle, I was not referring to the coach but the actual drivers seat and the passenger seat next to the drivers seat. Those need to have shoulder belts, correct? I think it would be difficult to place shoulder belts on the coach seat. However, the lap belts do work great on the coach when watching scary movies. Keeps me from hitting my head when I jump up during a scary part. :P
PatC,
I am the original owner, but the coach was a demo. Seats and belts are original.
Roy
We had new seats made at FlexSteel and they would not consider changing our 'seat belt only seats' for newer styles with shoulder belts, citing liability as coach was only "tested" without shoulder belts.
I have heard of coaches being stopped by Law Enforcement Officers because from the outside, they did not see shoulder belts in view.
What Tyle told me at FOt as we were getting ready to a test drive on an IH, that they are not installing shoulder belts any longer. I asked about DOT and he said the requirement is only a lap belt for the size of an IH. I did not check with TxDot but they have to be in compliance or they would not be legal.
I personally like the shoulder belt and would have one installed as condition I sale from the mfg.
Those are the ones I'm talking about - driver and passenger seats. Nearly all of the newer coaches have something FT refers to as a "residential-style" reclining seat as the passenger seat. It doesn't have a shoulder belt, only a lap belt. The style I'm talking about is the one on the left in these photos
(https://www.foreforums.com/imagecache.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foretraveloftexas.com%2Fphotos%2F6576_222.jpg&hash=bb0569a2d3074f56619c379d8341d1af" rel="cached" data-hash="bb0569a2d3074f56619c379d8341d1af" data-warn="External image, click here to view original" data-url="http://www.foretraveloftexas.com/photos/6576_222.jpg)
(https://www.foreforums.com/imagecache.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foretraveloftexas.com%2Fphotos%2F6578_214.jpg&hash=f9f6d319ced8bad40215c5611368e2f9" rel="cached" data-hash="f9f6d319ced8bad40215c5611368e2f9" data-warn="External image, click here to view original" data-url="http://www.foretraveloftexas.com/photos/6578_214.jpg)
I haven't looked closely at the driver seat options, such as the Knoedler air ride one.
David Flanagan told me of at least one buyer of a spec-built coach who had that default residential-style passenger seat replaced with the traditional MH style Villa seat with a shoulder belt as part of the sales agreement.
Last Spring I had Foretravel replace my original Flexsteel pilot and co-pilot seats (lap belts only) with Villa seats (lap belts AND integeral shoulder straps).
Strapping in is no worse than in an auto ant we do it always.
Personally, I would rather be without a shoulder strap in the motorhome. In my many years of over the highway driving, I have known drivers who were able to drop over sideways when in a accident, and this helped them avoid a encounter with the windshield. One driver I know would have been decapitated if he had not been able to lean over sideways like that. He was so extremely busted up that he is no longer driving, but he was able to keep his head so to say!