Amendment to HGV safety standard will improve safety for vulnerable road users

Funding from The Road Safety Trust and pioneering research from Loughborough University have strengthened the legislation around the minimum direct vision requirements for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

UNECE Regulation 167 aims to maximise the area around a vehicle cab which can be directly seen through the windows of the HGV – known as direct vision.

This is particularly important when it comes to reducing collisions between HGVs and vulnerable road users.

Researchers from Loughborough University, funded by The Road Safety Trust, found potential problems with the regulation, first introduced in 2022, where manufacturers could enhance frontal visibility without genuinely improving safety.

Their work comprised multiple studies, which were conducted to explore different methods of defining frontal visibility volumes and then test their effectiveness.

This led to the development of a more robust approach, which was put forward as an amendment to UNECE Regulation 167.

The final amendment proposed include a two-stage assessment of frontal visibility volumes, ensuring that vehicles meet both a general frontal visibility standard and specific visibility in the most critical zones directly in front of the vehicle.

The amendment was successfully passed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) earlier this year, ensuring that the regulation maintains its effectiveness in improving road safety for vulnerable road users.

Dr Steve Summerskill, who led the project at Loughborough University, said: “Our team designed the original version of UNECE 167 in collaboration with the UNECE VRU proxi Informal working group.

“It became apparent that HGV manufacturers were able to design without meeting the spirit of the standard, and so this amendment has been defined to solve this problem.

“The impact that the standard will have from 2026 is clear, with an EU impact assessment stating that 550 lives per year will be saved.”

Ruth Purdie OBE, chief executive of The Road Safety Trust, said: “This regulation plays a vital role in reducing collisions between HGVs and vulnerable road users, such as cyclists.

“The success of the project team in securing an amendment to the UNECE regulation is testament to their dedication to improving road safety, as well as to the positive impact that our grant funding is able to achieve through expert collaboration and evidence-based research.”

To find out more about the project, visit the project page on The Road Safety Trust website.

9 September 2024