From the Inbox…

Where/How does your group go about transporting kids to off site youth events?  According to my research, many churches are stepping away from using 15 passenger church vans citing safety concerns, in favor of smaller vehicles or buses.  Oh wouldn’t a million dollar budget be a wonderful thing

You’re right…the 15-passenger vans have pretty much been blacklisted. They have proven themselves to be a particularly unsafe mode of transportation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration warns against using them. And I understand that churches who have them are finding it more and more difficult to insure them.

We had one at Jesse Lee when I first arrived, but I convinced the Trustees to get rid of it. The design of most models puts a seat and cargo space behind the rear wheels, causing them to handle much differently in quick-turn or skid situations, while the passenger weight increases the center of gravity, making them more susceptible to rollover accidents.

When we go somewhere, we ask our regular adult volunteers to drive their personal vehicles. We have some parents who volunteer to drive, too. I like to keep about a 1:5 chaperon to kid ratio on trips, so this works out anyway.

We have a walkie-talkie for each vehicle to help make sure we’re all together. It does the job well, but you always have this one driver who grew up in the 70’s watching BJ and the Bear and Dukes of Hazzard and always wanted a cool CB of his own. Everything is “10, 4″ or “Rodger” or my personal favorite, “got your ears on?” Or you have the woman who wants to be the tour guide for the whole caravan, pointing out every landmark and giving a play-by-play of the other drivers’ driving. Frankly, if I’m not the lead or the rear vehicle, I turn mine off. That is, until it’s time to call for a bathroom stop.

Don’t forget to background-check your drivers. It’s imperative for an overnight trip. One other thing we do here is always ask the kids before asking their parents to drive. And always offer to reimburse for gas.

Speaking of that…you mean you don’t have a million-dollar budget?