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Light:commercia s
Page 38
Page 39
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Following the US example, reflective tape may be made compulsory to reduce night time and twilight accidents. Adam Hill reports.
Few operators will quibble with the idea behind the Department for Transport's latest consultation paper: To reduce death and serious injury resulting from collisions involving large vehicles."
The road transport industry is being asked for its thoughts on making trucks more conspicuous to other road users, especially at night, by the use of reflective strips on their backs and sides.
The European Commission and other member states want conspicuity tape, which is currently optional, to be fitted to all new CVs above 3.5 tonnes. The industry's input is required by 16 September, in advance of next month's meeting of the United Nations Expert Group on vehicle lighting.
Size and speed The idea is that other road users might find it hard to judge the size and speed of large vehicles when they are stationary or moving relatively slowly compared with following traffic, or when they are crossing a stream of traffic.
Statistics would appear to bear this out. The Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) estimates that each year in Great Britain 30-34 car occupants are killed in collisions with the rear of HG Vs, and 40-44 are killed in collisions with the side. In 2003, in collisions with HGVs, 41% of other vehicles struck the front, 30% the side and 13% the rear. In the same year trucks represented 1.7% of vehicles on UK roads but they were involved in 15% of fatal accidents.
To make its case, the government is using 1980s research by the Motor Industry Research Association (MIR A) which indicated that 26 out of 200 HGV accidents would have been less serious or avoided completely if the other road user had seen the truck earlier. Half the accidents 6.5% of the total sample happened in twilight or at night, where improvements to truck conspicuity might have helped.
The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (RVLR ) (1989) already require all HG Vs to be fitted with rear retro reflectors; any vehicles over hm long must have side retro reflectors and side marker lamps. Some vehicles above 7.5 tonnes must be fitted with additional retro reflective rear marker plates.
However,in the US the number of cars crashing into trucks at night actually rose by 8% to 315 in the second year after conspicuity marking was introduced in 1993.
On the other hand there was a 15% reduction in night-time crashes by cars into the side and rear of HG Vs.
The DtT acknowledges that US data might not apply directly to the UK situation-not least because most UK vehicles' side marker lights, retro reflectors and rear marker plates already make them visi ble. while US trucks did not have this equipment until conspicuity markings were introduced in 1993.
Cost of tape
Buying and fitting the tape to a new vehicle could cost the best part of £4(X) depending on the size of vehicle, and it would probably need to be replaced after eight years.
Despite all this, the Df l' does not see doing nothing as an option; but it seems to favour restricting compulsory conspicuity marking to the heaviest class of HG V.
If you accept the safety argument of conspicuity marking, this idea makes sense: in 2003, of the 765 people killed or seriously injured in collisions with the side or rear of HGVs, almost 90% involved vehicles weighing more than 7.5 tonnes.• CONTACTS SEO TTS6, Transport Technology Division, Department for Transport. 2/06, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR Alternatively, download copies of the questionnaire from the Consultations section of the DfT website; www.dft.gov.uk