Life-saving headboard
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by Juliet Morrison • Reg Richardson believes that a trailer's headboard saved the life of one of his former drivers when his 22-tonne load of steel pipes jerked forward in a near collision.
Richardson, managing director of Middlesbroughbased RF Richardson Transport, says that had the 1.5m high headboard not been in place, the pipes would have gone through the back of the cab and possibly killed the driver.
However, many articulated vehicles on Britain's roads are not fitted with these potential life savers, as some hauliers believe they are unnecessary. Graham Bird, of the United Road Transport Union, plans to change this. Bird, URTU's North East regional officer, is launching a campaign to have the fitting of headboards made compulsory on flatbed trailers used for loads such as steel pipes, where the goods are heavy and difficult to secure.
He wants drivers to write to him with their experiences of how headboards have helped them avoid an injury or crash—or whether they believe failure to fit them endangered their life.
"Driving without a headboard is as dangerous as driving a defective truck. But there is little interest in the safety implications, because usually if there is an accident only the truck driver is hurt, rather than the general public," he says.
Syl Murray, a director of Doncaster-based trailer manufacturer Beechwood Systems, also advocates the use of headboards: "They're not very heavy and only cost around £350 to retrofit a 1.5m high model."
The Department of Transport says that if Bird's research gives evidence that driving without headboards can be a safety hazard, it will investigate the claims.