Guide: Travel safely with the camper 🎥
THAT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD WATCH OUT For many vacationers, their own four wheels are the first choice this summer. Campers are particularly trendy, because they offer a lot of comfort. However, there are some precautions to take. The video shows the different safety standards in a comparison in a frontal crash of the VW T3 and the VW T6. Campers and motorhomes [...]
The video shows a comparison of the different safety standards in a frontal crash of the VW T3 and the VW T6.
Campers and motorhomes have been experiencing a real boom for several years. Since 2015, the number of insured vehicles at AXA has increased by 31 percent. These vehicles enable their owners to travel autonomously with plenty of storage space.
In a mobility study, AXA Switzerland asked around 1,000 people, among other things, how they planned to travel on vacation this summer. Around 40 percent said they would be traveling on their own four wheels. In a survey of 800 owners of motorhomes, the figure was almost 90 percent.
Response other than passenger car
According to the accident statistics, AXA recorded 12.5 percent more collisions involving passenger cars in the summer and fall, and the figure was as much as 91 percent higher for motorhomes.
For inexperienced drivers in particular, the unusually massive motorhomes present a number of pitfalls, as the driving behavior differs significantly from that of passenger cars due to their size, weight and center of gravity height.
Securing animals and the cargo
On the one hand, danger points are evident in the loading of luggage, and on the other hand, in the securing of people and animals. Dangerous behavior, such as putting one's feet up on the dashboard in the passenger seat while driving, is popular on longer trips. Basically, passengers and pets are often inadequately secured.
Driver safety training is important
As a tip, AXA suggests that inexperienced drivers of motorhomes should pay attention to safety equipment with assistance systems even before buying or renting. It also makes sense to attend a driver safety training course.
In addition, the correct loading and securing of persons must be ensured as a matter of urgency. Especially those who travel long distances with older vehicles should be aware of the lower safety standards compared to today's conditions and adapt their driving behavior accordingly.
Vintage cars often offer less safety
Older campers, such as the VW T3 shown in this year's crash tests, are also very popular. The prices of these trendy classic cars are steadily moving closer to those of new vehicles, but their buyers are foregoing today's safety standards in favor of cult status.
This is impressively demonstrated by a direct comparison in a head-on crash between the VW T3 and a 40-year younger and current VW T6. Despite severe deformation, the modern vehicle has a large crumple zone and a sufficiently stable passenger cell to protect the occupants from major injuries.
