Horrifying crash puts spotlight on campervans

A horror road smash north of Mangaweka has thrown the spotlight on campervans and how the vehicles cope in a serious crash.

A blown tyre led to a campervan crashing on SH1 just north of Mangaweka on Tuesday, with emergency services describing the wreckage of the vehicle as "unrecognisable".

Two seriously injured adults were flown by the Palmerston North rescue helicopter to Wanganui Hospital, while two adults and two children were taken to Wanganui by St John ambulance.

St John regional operations manager Jimmy Seville said the scene of the crashed campervan was utter chaos, and described campervans' tendencies to open up on impact.

"These vans are like a box on a chassis and on impact they explode. Everything falls out... the windows pop out, the doors fly open and from the inside everything goes, including the passengers."

However, to say the people in the campervan were ejected on impact was wrong, he said.

"They fall out because everything just pops open. So you've got a road full of people, bedding, water bottles, bags, crockery... everything goes. It's a serious mess, believe me."

Palmerston North rescue helicopter pilot Fergus McLachlan said when he flew into the area he could not work out what kind of vehicle had crashed.

"What a mess... the van was totally unrecognisable. I had to ask the fire guys what it was exactly or what it had been. The mess all over the road was unbelievable, so we had to land further down from the crash than we normally would have."

A small dog in the campervan, travelling in a soft doghouse/bed, was thrown from a window, he said.

"It was pretty amazing because the police found the dog still inside its bed and unhurt."

Taihape Fire Brigade senior station officer John Colling said the windows and doors had all fallen out of the crashed campervan.

He agreed with Mr Seville's assessment that most of the vans were boxes on a chassis and that things like windows and doors just popped out if they crashed.

However, New Zealand Motor Caravan Association general manager Dave Lockie said he thought the comments made by emergency services were "pretty loose".

Campervans were roadworthy, had warrants of fitness and were well-maintained, he said.

However, in an impact like a crash, the windows would pop out, he said.

"But these vans all have a very strong chassis."

A spokesperson for Kea Campers Motorhomes said safety was uppermost in the construction of their vehicles.

"So that van definitely wouldn't have been one of ours... it sounds like a homemade motor home... there's a lot of them about. The windows, doors, cupboards and fittings in our van would stay put. They certainly wouldn't pop out on to the road."

Transit New Zealand spokesman Andy Knackstedtsaid the rules state that all passengers in motorhomes must be wearing seatbelts - if the seating positions are fitted with them.

"Depending on the age of the campervan it may or may not have had a full set of seatbelts fitted. More modern vehicles are required to have seatbelts fitted to the front seats and additional seats to equal the total number of sleeping berths. Anyone in a seat fitted with seatbelts is required to use them."