Much of the news coverage concerning the July 12 Cross Bay Boulevard van accident that claimed the lives of five developmentally disabled adults has focused on the qualifications of their driver and his fitness to drive.
While these are serious issues, The Queens Courier is to be complimented on reporting what may be the most significant response to this accident: its investigation by representatives of the National Transportation Safety Board.
As Courier readers know, the vehicle involved in this accident was a 15-passenger Ford Econoline van. In addition, as the Courier's reporter, Tonia Cimino reported last week (July 20), vans like the Econoline have a horrible safety record. In fact, nearly 1,000 people have been killed and many more seriously injured in 15-passenger van accidents, most of which were rollover crashes.
The Cross Bay Boulevard accident was different from these other van crashes.
Nevertheless, the point is that this type of vehicle should not be used to transport people at any time. Yet they are. Despite the government warnings, despite news articles such as The Courier has run, these vehicles are being used to transport not only developmentally disabled adults, but also adults commuting to work, or the elderly shuttling from nursing homes. Perhaps some Courier readers have put their children on vans for church outings or school events.
I have represented the families of victims in more than a dozen of these accidents, one of which was also the focus of an NTSB investigation. That probe resulted in the first of several warnings the agency has issued to owners and operators. I know firsthand that these vehicles should not be used to transport people. Even the most skilled driver would be unable to control these vehicles under foreseeable highway conditions.
These vans were originally designed as cargo vehicles, but the manufacturers elected to turn them into people carriers. By adding seats and other features, the vehicle's center of gravity was raised. When the van is fully loaded with people, it can be unstable – especially if the driver must make an emergency maneuver, even something as simple as swerving to avoid an obstacle in the road.
Last year, the NTSB began investigating the rollover accident that killed eight students at Utah State University. Despite the differences between that accident and this one, I take it as highly significant that the agency has chosen to investigate yet another 15-passenger van accident.
Perhaps another safety warning is about to be issued. Better yet, the manufacturers should assume some of the responsibility for these accidents and re-design their vans so they are safer. As one who has seen firsthand the suffering caused by these accidents, I can only hope this latest crash will spur public outcry and these vans will no longer be used for a purpose they are not designed to handle.
Jeff Wigington
Corpus Christi, Texas
Powerful Doubter
More and more residents in Western Queens suspect the loss of power is really a “high-powered” deal made behind closed doors. It is time for reporters to stop being lazy about the electrical crisis here and start investigating - or at least consider some other possibilities to the weak answers Con Edison is giving. Residents are counting on you.
Remember, developers in NYC and Western Queens have been able to run rampant with large new buildings, particularly in Long Island City. The East side of Manhattan has Mayor Bloomberg’s showcase building on Third Avenue and all of this escalating development everywhere by Bloomberg cronies requires a lot of electrical power.
Where do you think Con Edison will direct scarce electricity - to new multi-million dollar units so that they can run air conditioning on high, or old time middle class Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Astoria residents so they can have refrigerated food, hot water and light?
We need our news reporters to commission an immediate “independent” investigation to look at the “lost feeder” tall tale by Con Edison.
Rebecca Kelly
Sunnyside
Another Opinion About Our Opinion
In response to The Queens Courier editorial: “A Great Call.”
Your commending the use of multi-languages for normal everyday access weakens this country by Balkanizing the population and turning us into a tower of Babel. “. . . serve our diverse population? . . . have the need to understand and communicate with our polyglot population?”
How about the diverse multilingual polyglot population learning to communicate with us rather than the other way around? What an incredible misuse of our limited resources. It miss-serves our entire reason for being; what made us great is our melting into one, not dividing into many. Keeping one's culture, language and traditions are great. That is what one does in one's family. Keeping people dependent and out of our melting pot keeps us divided and eventually we will fall.
Michael Sturm
Jackson Heights
