Having a nose that crumples is helpful in case of accidents. Turns out that VW Vanagons are deathtraps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmixmEkfLu0
It says the exactly opposite of your comment. The VW is safe, can be repaired and is comparable to normal cars with a hood.
This happens so often in comment sections, people drop a lengthy video, noone wants to watch a 15 minute video and they have a "proof" for their argument.
Well, at least when compared to cars from 1984. I wonder how it would fare against a modern car?
Cars are much safer today, the paper below says that the probability of a driver being killed in a new 2008-2012 car is 0.29 versus 0.42 in a new 1985-1993 model year car.
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/...
(another interesting finding from that paper is that the probability of death increases as the vehicle ages, even within the same model year)
Looks like they don't speculate much on it -- they mention improvements in driver behavior over time and maintenance. Not bad, but my first thoughts were:
* a 20 year old vehicle is often driven by a person with a different socioeconomic situation than someone with a 1 year old vehicle, and those economic situations correlate heavily with other driving behaviors.
* as vehicles are getting safer and more powerful, highway speeds are rising, so 20 year old vehicle that are just keeping up with traffic are going faster than they used to.
Where do they still sell a rear engined Vanagan style van?
Wikipedia says the T3 was the last of the VW rear engined vans (last made in 2002 for the African market, and 1990 in Germany).
My conclusion from watching is that it seems like safety is a design problem that not every mfg designed for.
No impact to knees. No impact from steering wheel. Comparable to normal cars with hoods.
Hopefully they have designed bracing into the frame to protect occupants.It's the high speed impacts by other vehicles that are the worry. Multi stop delivery is a major risk on busy roads. At least the design has the driver's feet just behind the front axle, would be interested to see the impact crumple one design.
http://www.postal-reporter.com/blog/postal-worker-injured-af...
Separately it is going to be very hot in that cab with all that glass
Wish I could vote you up more than +1 to restore your karma.
Why having a red hot engine land on your lap is considered a safety bonus I will never know.
Visibility is also better in the cabover design.