Safer Aerodynamic Trucks

In the European Union in 2013 around 4,000 people were killed in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) in excess of 3.5 tonnes. Just under half of those killed were car occupants. Head on crashes between cars and trucks are a very severe type of crash involving high relative speeds (50% >130 km/h) and a high risk of fatality (10% of all such casualties are killed). One of the problems in such collisions is the crash compatibility of the vehicles; trucks are heavier, their main structures are stiffer and are positioned higher from the ground than for passenger cars. Front underrun protection (FUP) was introduced to try to reduce the risks of these crashes. Most current devices are built for compliance with existing regulation and few offer as standard an integrated energy absorbing system. Changes to Directive 96/53/EC will allow longer trucks provided they increase safety, amongst other things. Increased length offers increased scope for FUP to absorb meaningful amounts of collision energy but also presents compatibility and challenges and would require development of a new regulatory test procedure. The aim of this report is to explore these potential benefits and challenges and propose candidate methods for further development as a formal test procedure