I saw this posted over on the JLC forum and I thought I'd share it.  Here's a video showing wooden tool shelving in a van simulating an accident.  Scary stuff. 

wooden van racking crash test

Hey with the right polyurethane... it would have held together...... NOT!

They didn't seem to even be loaded with anything but empty bins. Add a several hundred pounds of tools and anyone in the front cabin would have to be removed with a wet vac.

I would like to see some tests with the custom metal racks. I would think that if they are not tied to the frame they would also just go forward and crush the driver and passenger.

Cheers,
Steve

Bulkhead, bulkhead, bulkhead. A van is for driving with a load and any load in the back is dangerous in case of an accident.

Yea, scary stuff but not a fair test.  Why were the seats removed, they would have given a lot of protection.  I'm not saying totally safe but I don't think it would have looked so bad.

Anyway, most vans in the UK come with steel bulkheads or some form of cage behind the drivers seat.

Woodguy.

I also have to wonder about the appropriateness of testing without at least a driver and passenger seat in place.

Did anyone else notice that the van wasn't even moving until the test started? It wasn't a "crash" test like you might where the momentum of the shelves and the objects on them carries them forward as the van comes to a sudden halt. Somehow they jerked the van body into motion, kinda like pulling a tablecloth out from under a bunch of dishes. It just goes to show that Sir Isaac Newton was right that an object at rest tends to remain at rest.

It also shows that whatever you do, do NOT "gun it" in reverse! 

Finally, that cheerful music accompanying all the destruction in that test was just downright creepy. 

How about other drivers and pedestrians? Can you hear their screams? 

You Only Live Twice

I'm sure there's some irony in that selection....

Shaken, not stirred!

The test is not about how to protect the driver from flying objects, the test is about making the storage system in such a way that everything stays where it is and nothing gets airborn in the first place.

Read two comments about the seats not being in place. I assure you, you don't want to do that test in real life.


It makes no difference. This experiment tests the exact same conditions as a van crashing into a wall. Inertia is the keyword. In a real crash inertia prevents the storage racks from stopping at the same time as the rest of the van so that's why they fly forwards. In this test inertia prevents the storage racks to accelerate as fast as the van and that's why, relative to the van, they fly forwards also. With this setup you can do multiple tests without wrecking the van at the first try.

I mentioned it for two reasons:

1. It was interesting.

2. So I could make the joke about gunning it in reverse. So much for that idea… I'm gonna go soak my head now.

50 kph isn't particularly fast. Lots of folks drive their vans around at twice that or more.

Since E=0.5*mv² that's 4x more energy to dissipate.

I'd like to see a more stringent test.

I lived in Houston a long time and it was VERY common to see 18-wheelers on the freeways loaded heavily with drill pipe. The port of Houston had incredible amounts of pipe coming in from Japan and it was trucked from the docks to pipe yards all around the city, waiting to be used on drilling rigs.

I once saw one of those trucks that apparently had to stop really fast on the freeway - panic stops from full speed were not too uncommon... I think the coroner had to pick the driver out of the pipe. The load went right through the tractor's cab.


Tom

I was in an accident in my work van a few weeks ago, there were 2 vans involved. The van I was in had a metal bulk head which really saved my butt. The metal shelving units were ripped out and crashed against the cage moving it about 4". So many different tools popped off the shelves and were flying around everywhere. The other van involved did not have a bulkhead, his tools hit the back of the seats so hard it ripped the seats right out of the floor. He had tools everywhere and I'm glad he didn't have anywhere near the amount of tools I had in my van or it wouldn't have been a good sight.  After seeing his seat ripped out I would never drive a van without a bulk head and that had poorly made shelves that are not securely fastened.

Dave

a friend of mine a few years ago was in a crash in his small van. he had his metal mechnics style toolbox filled with woodworking tools inside the back door and a few chisels put in beside it. head on colision with a small wall (avoiding someone). the tool box went through the front window and the chisels went halfway through the passenger seat. luckely no one else was in it.

i had a scare in my van . i had to stop of a shot  when some one pulled out in front of me. i stuck it to the road  and everything in the back flw up against the bulk head. frightened the be jaysus out of me

never under estemate the forces involed in a crash. every van should have a bulk head. my berlingo has half a bulk head and mesh on the top half. its a pain sometimes if you want to put in a skim bead or tiling trim etc. but at least the tools wont come into the front part

I now like my trailer even more after seeing this video. Even if you have your tools all located in the steel shelving there is always something in the isle & more often than not it is heavy. I used a van for years but switched to a pickup & trailer a few years back.

Gerry

My personal experience.  Around 8 years ago I had a woman come to a complete abrupt stop in the left lane of a highway, directly in front of me.  She wanted to u-turn through the median.  We were doing at least 50mph and I crushed most of her car with my big *** van.  The only damage to my van was the left corner of the bumper went into my tire and was rubbing.  The shelving units I had, I made out of heavy gauge aluminum.  I didn't have any protection between the shelving units and the front seats.  I had a lot of tools on those shelving units on both sides that ran the full length of an extended van.  Nothing hit me or the seats and the aluminum gave under the force, only distorting while still remaining attached and fully intact.  I believe that's the only reason my story differs from others - aluminum.