Today’s entry is something of a Public Service Announcement and it is this. BEWARE OF WHITE VANS. Let me explain.
If you travel anywhere on your bike these days you are going to be sharing the road with increasing numbers of white vans. And, as you have probably already discovered, sharing the road with white vans brings a whole new set of hazards and difficulties that were not apparent before these menaces became as numerous as they now are.
Time was, you see, when deliveries were done in utes. Utes were basically cars with the back sawed off. They could keep up with the traffic and the driver had plenty of visibility to scope out what was happening around him and make adjustments as necessary. But, around the start of the 1980’s, Japanese manufacturers began to flood our market with vans. They had advantages that the ute didn’t have. They were cheaper; they could carry more; they kept the load dry in bad weather conditions; they could be locked and so the load was kept secure; they had economical 4 cylinder engines that gave much better fuel consumption; tyres and servicing was cheaper; in fact, just about everything about the Japanese van was cheaper and, since business usually considers price before it considers any other consideration, they sold by the boatload.
Now they also came with their own parcel of disadvantages. They were slow; some would barely pull the skin off a rice pudding (their performance uphill was even more depressing). They handled badly (though how this became a consideration in the overall scheme of things is not immediately apparent but I will make it so as you read on). They provided little or nothing in the area of creature comforts, but, since price was the major consideration and drivers were considered to be expendable items, this wasn’t really on the accountant’s radar. They were prone to overheating. Having the engine under the floor of the cab brought with it its own set of difficulties. They were incredibly noisy and hot for the driver,; no aircon and sitting on top of a hot engine wasn’t ideal, but, see my comment above about drivers and you will see why this really didn’t figure when the Purchasing Department wrote out the cheque. And, they were desperately unsafe. There was ZERO crash protection for the driver whose feet provided the first part of the crumple zone. Given poor handling, poor brakes, poor all-round visibility and all the other deficiencies, it’s a wonder they survived in the market place at all. But, not only did they survive, they THRIVED. The wretched things multiplied like cockroaches under the dishwasher. You have to ask yourself why and the answer has already been provided, they were CHEAP.
And we got used to sharing the road with them. The early ones were pretty easy; too slow to get out of their own road, they were easy pickings in any decent sort of car and no contest when compared to a bike. And so it has been that, for the first 20 years or so, the Japanese van ruled the city streets.
But then a new threat emerged. As the manufacturers started to make vans more luxurious and safer, the price paid for vans started to rise dramatically. Suddenly, the van was an expensive item to add to the fleet rather than a cheap, expendable one. Considerations of re-sale value, leasing residuals and such like began to cause furrows on the accountant’s brow. And, just about then, the answer appeared on the scene. The Kia Pregio. It was cheap; it had enough performance and features to make it worth considering and it was cheap (did I mention it was cheap?) OK, it had zero resale value but, the initial purchase price was so low that the boss didn’t care. Owner/drivers and companies that had purchased the Toyota Hi-Ace for the last 20 years, jumped ship.
It didn’t take long for the gloss to wear off, however. Cheap didn’t necessarily mean cheerful. Mechanical reliability and longevity quickly became an issue and the attraction of the cheap price didn’t lead to on-going loyalty to the Korean brand.
But, just about when the worry was setting in, something very strange happened. The Europeans arrived. Well, truth be told, they had never really left but, a combination of ridiculously high tariffs and the Japanese manufacturers’ ability to make a cheaper product had effectively locked them out of anything except the top end of the market and the top end wasn’t where volume sales took place and it wasn’t where profitability was found. But tariffs started to go down and the European product suddenly became a viable alternative. More than viable, in fact, when you started considering the value-added features of something like a Mercedes Sprinter or Vito. Air-con, a proper stereo, comfortable upholstered seats (ever try doing any distance in a 1980’s Japanese van? My brother aptly described the driver’s seat as a “vinyl crucifix”. I drove a friend’s Datsun van from Ipswich to Canberra once. It took YEARS before my body forgave me.) and acceptable performance and handling. They were safer, having had to submit to the Europeans’ fanatical safety regulations and they were mechanically robust, having the built-in Teutonic fanaticism about these issues.
In the wake of Mercedes, the rest of them got in the game. Suddenly the streets were filling with Renaults, Citroens, FIATs and VWs. And each new generation brought with them more performance, comfort and features as well as bringing a smile to the faces of accountants who saw distinct advantages in terms of initial outlay and leasing residuals.
So we arrive at today where we are sharing our city and semi-rural streets with not only Japanese vans but also Korean and European ones (as well as a handful of the locally-produced variety). So, why then, have I said that this is something of which we, as motorcyclists (and car drivers for that matter) should beware?
Well, firstly, modern vans are fast. Time was that getting the jump on a van in traffic was easy; today, not so much. With turbocharged diesel engines and excellent gearboxes, modern vans can more than hold their own in the hurly-burly of city traffic. So, don’t assume that the gap is going to be there when you get there because the van in front of you is going to be slow. It probably won’t because it isn’t.
Secondly, by default, almost, vans are driven by aggressive and focussed drivers. Not necessarily focussed on the traffic or what is happening around them, but focussed on where they have to be next and how quickly they can get there. And they will do whatever is necessary to make that deadline. Time is money and nothing must stand in the way of making that next pickup or drop-off. Don’t expect the driver to give you either space or consideration, you don’t enter into his frame of reference.
Thirdly, most modern vans are BIG. Disturbingly big. Seeing around them in a line of traffic is impossible and, given that the driver assumes that you understand what he is doing and that he is going to turn left (without indicating) at the next intersection, you need to give them as wide a berth as possible.
Fourthly, since the mobile phone is the universal tool of communication today, the driver is more than likely either making a call or receiving one most of the time. Either that or he is consulting his UBD or his GPS and isn’t likely to be 100% with it.
Fifthly, despite being fitted with excellent mirrors, modern vans still have huge blind spots which we, as motorcyclists, have to factor in to our thinking when sharing the road with them.
Sixthly, most vans are unmarked and this is not a coincidence. Since the cost of signwriting is high and since the van is likely to be passed in soon as the lease expires, more and more companies are foregoing the “luxury” of using their vans as mobile billboards for the company. And since the van is, more or less, anonymous, the driver has the benefit of being able to be less than polite in his dealings with you because you can’t tell who he is and which company he represents.
Seventhly, since the van more often than not belongs to someone else, the driver often doesn’t care too much if there is the occasional scrape or dent. I won’t elaborate on that one.
Eighthly, vans are mostly on a stop-start regime. So the one in front of you is just as likely to stop suddenly (even double parking to do so) throw open the door and the driver to dive out to do a delivery. Give them a wide berth.
Ninthly, Modern vans can more than keep pace with the traffic on the freeway. Let them get on with it.
And finally, remember that, despite all these and other caveats that exist when you have to deal with white vans, the bottom line is that the guy (or girl) in the driver’s seat is a person just like you who is struggling with making the deadline, making a living and trying to juggle all the demands of modern living.
So, beware of white vans. They can be your worst enemy of you don’t be careful.