- Vans are more often involved in accidents than passenger cars and we have seen that they do not meet the same standard in terms of safety, says Rikard Fredriksson, traffic safety analyst at the Swedish Transport Administration.

To get a grip on the shortcomings, the Swedish Transport Administration and NCAP have for the first time tested 19 different vans, which together account for almost 98 percent of sales in Europe.

Not a single model achieves top marks.

5 of them, almost 20 percent, have such low security that they receive the rating "not recommended".

Unprotected road users

In Sweden, just over 430,000 vans roll, significantly more than just a few years ago.

Vans are tall, lack rear and side windows and thus obscure the view for cyclists, pedestrians and cars behind.

In addition, drivers are often in a hurry.

- The hypothesis is that professional drivers often experience stress and therefore risk not discovering, for example, a pedestrian who runs out into the street in dense city traffic and darkness, says Rikard Fredriksson.

The consequences can be fatal.

In 2015-19, 78 people in Sweden died in accidents with vans, and in almost half of the cases it was an unprotected road user who lost his life.

Tragedies that in several cases could have been avoided if the van had been equipped with driver support such as auto brake and distance warning for pedestrians, the Swedish Transport Administration believes.

Aids that are common in newer cars but which for vans can not even be bought as an option.

Several of the tested models do not even include basic safety features such as airbags and seat belt reminders in the standard equipment.

No pressure on the manufacturers

The fact that vans also have poorer road properties explains why they are more often involved in meeting accidents, where the driver has lost control of the car and collided.

They are also heavy, which increases the risk of people in the oncoming car being injured or even killed.

Why are vans so neglected in terms of safety?

- There has been no pressure on manufacturers to increase safety.

A passenger car has not been sold without top marks in Euro NCAP, while vans have not even been tested.

In addition, it is primarily the price that governs which cars the transport companies have bought.

Safety has come a long way down the list, but we hope that this test can change that.