Passat wagon cargo/boot divider?

[Guest001]

What a crock. Honestly, this has to be the most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard. So, if an object came forward, and impacted the barrier it might present an eye poking hazard, however doing nothing and having no barrier would see that same object fly forward and either decapitate someone or crush their skull. So it is better to lose your life rather than MAYBE get poked in the eye!!!
I would suggest a letter to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport advising them of the serious design flaw in the design of the Passat that leaves its occupants totally unprotected from items stored in the cargo area, and that VW do not advise the fitting of a cargo barrier as should one of these objects stored in the cargo area come flying forward it MIGHT just damage the barrier and MAYBE poke someone in the eye. This means that the Passat is an unsafe vehicle and should be immediately withdrawn from the market and a general recall should be initiated on all similar vehicles sold as they present a real danger to its occupants.
CC the letter to VW in Wolfsburg AND the Insurance Council of Australia, just so that they are also kept in the loop.

Thats a bit rugged The car is not unsafe in any way. UNLESS some idiot loads it higher than the back of the seats. This applies to any wagon and not just Passats. Just as an aside I saw a video of what a slab of beer did in the back of a hatchback.

It was just chucked in , not tied down and when car made an emergency stop it flattened the back seats and the passenger and went through the windscreen.

By your post EVERY wagon would have to be fitted with a cargo barrier to be safe. That in itself is a crock of *****.

The Milford barriers issue a disclaimer saying that the barrier is only certified to a load rating of 60kg so if you load the rear up like we

did when we went travelling in a Landcruiser it wouldnt be compliant anyway as we had 3 plastic 20L jerrycans, a Honda generator, a

Toolbox I could barely lift and various bits of other stuff all sitting on top of the drawers with the safety gear in them.That was behind the barrier behind the rear seat.

We also had another barrier behind the front seat and had a washing machine and a 60litre Waeco fridge in between the two.

Had a 2850Kg van on the back for an all up weight of over 6100kg. Never had any probs. But had to leave the fittings in the vehicle when I sold it.

Common sense, that very uncommon trait applies here and in any wagon Dont load small things higher than the seats.

[Marakai]

The Milford barriers issue a disclaimer saying that the barrier is only certified to a load rating of 60kg so if you load the rear up like we

What HB said. I have no quibbles with ratings. E=mv^2 is a bitch of a law. 60kg at 100km/h is a missile that will take your head off and applies to any object loaded in a wagon that isn't secured and can freely move forward in the case of an emergency stop.

My quibble is, if anything, Euro (specifically German) regs are far more safety oriented (and not so much with an eye on lawsuits and insurance, which in Australia has taken US levels of idiocy), so if they have barriers that are rated, I daresay that they meet or exceed what a Milford would do, yet with more elegance and more modern materials. I need to read what the speed and weight ratings are for the German VW part. Always keep the significantly higher speed limits in Germany in mind.

That said, the barrier for the Passat isn't even focused on stopping high stacked items: unless that has changed, it's against the law anyway, not the least because it obscures view to the rear. I'll see what I can find.

[Guest001]

[QUOTE

it's against the law anyway, not the least because it obscures view to the rear..[/QUOTE]

Only partly true. As long as you have your exterior mirrors it is not illegal to obscure your internal mirrors view to the rear.
To wit Towing a van, Driving a vehicle with solid rear doors as in a Hiace or god forbid a Transporter etc.

[Marakai]

it's against the law anyway, not the least because it obscures view to the rear..

Only partly true. As long as you have your exterior mirrors it is not illegal to obscure your internal mirrors view to the rear.
To wit Towing a van, Driving a vehicle with solid rear doors as in a Hiace or god forbid a Transporter etc.

Yeah, just had to check (it has been a while since I had to read the German road laws ). As long as you have two outside mirrors you may block the view of the internal rearview mirror. Other regs regarding securing the load, max weight, dimensions, etc apply, of course.

[Guest001]

Yeah, just had to check (it has been a while since I had to read the German road laws ). As long as you have two outside mirrors you may block the view of the internal rearview mirror. Other regs regarding securing the load, max weight, dimensions, etc apply, of course.

Perhaps a read of the Australian Road rules would be more beneficial. LOL

[Marakai]

Perhaps a read of the Australian Road rules would be more beneficial. LOL

Uhm, why? Did you miss that in my post further up I was specifically talking about German laws? I wasn't referring to Australian ones at all. Maybe should have made that clearer.

[Guest001]

Uhm, why? Did you miss that in my post further up I was specifically talking about German laws? I wasn't referring to Australian ones at all. Maybe should have made that clearer.

Yes but as you are presumably fitting it to a car in Australia it really is irrelevant whether the German or any other countries regs are tougher or weaker than here. Its what is legal here that matters.
Thats what I meant

[wai]

Thats a bit rugged The car is not unsafe in any way. UNLESS some idiot loads it higher than the back of the seats. This applies to any wagon and not just Passats. Just as an aside I saw a video of what a slab of beer did in the back of a hatchback.

Exactly. What I was trying to point out is the sheer absurdity of saying that having a cargo barrier is "unsafe" by refusing to sell one that does not meat Australian Standards, however you can still carry the exact same loads in the cargo area without any barrier at all and that is considered OK?

It's a simple risk assessment. As long as the barrier does not increase the risk to the occupants over having no barrier at all, the risk is reduced. In both cases, loads need to be secured. I do know that one of the dangers is that people see a barrier and therefore believe that no load restraint is needed. This is plainly wrong. Heck, having a box of tissues on the rear parcel shelf of a car can cause a heck of a lot of damage. Remember that impact forces will typically see a deceleration of 20 G. So a 250 g box of tissues becomes 5 kg box when it hits you on the noggin. I certainly would NOT want to be hit on the head by something that was 5 kg.

But then we all do stupid things. I seem to recall a death in one of the Around Australia Rallies where the team carried a rear axle housing unrestrained inside the vehicle. A sudden stop saw both driver and co-driver killed.

It is the stupidity of VW trying to play the nanny that saw my comments. So, if VW dealers take the attitude that the barrier not meeting the Australian Standard renders the vehicle unsafe and so will not sell it, then no barrier in the vehicle must make it even more unsafe. After all, loads must be restrained no matter what; barrier or no barrier no matter if the barrier meets Australian Standards or not.

In the case of a vehicle carrying 3 plastic 20 l jerry cans, a Honda generator, and a toolbox, they all should have been suitably restrained. It does not matter that they were all inside a vehicle. All a barrier would do is add a further level of protection should something else fail. There is no legal requirement to fit barriers. Any barrier simply has to add a level of additional protection over and above the normal restraints that should be used.