As I recall from reading CU results many years ago, the Vanagon failed
because front seat occupants suffered severe injuries from the windshield
breaking in front end collisions.

Your comments about the "spool out" of the shoulder harness leads me to
wonder if one should replace them on older Vanagons.  Mine show the evidence
of 14 years of use, and I wonder if they would function properly in a crash.

My other concern is the lack of headrests on the rear bench seat of my '84
Westfalia, since that is where the kids ride.  The existing bench back is
only a piece of plywood with a foam cushion, so there is no where to fasten
headrests.  Has anybody ever found a way to install headrests?

Thanks

Eric S.
1984 Westfalia
-----Original Message-----
From: HARRIST <HARRIST@ABC.COM>
To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 2:01 PM
Subject: Vanagon Crashworthiness

>Hate to be a party pooper, but we vanagoneers should not get too smug about
>crashworthiness.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash
>tested one of our beloved bricks at 35 mph head-on into a fixed barrier.  I
>obtained the crash footage from the National Crash Analysis Center, which
>maintains a catalogue of all government crash tests on a website.  (Just
>point your browsers to NHTSA)