Load safety takes centre stage for FTA

The guide is being published by the Freight Transport Association (FTA), which has delegated all testing work to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL).

It is hoped that the Department for Transport (DfT) will adopt the booklet as its official guidance for fleet operators, for the first time shedding some light on this hitherto dark area.

An FTA spokesman said: "The need for the research to be carried out has emerged as it has become apparent that the long-standing code of practice issued by the DfT on safe loading can no longer be relied upon by operators as to what is a reasonable expectation of load retention performance.

"Currently, opinion among enforcement agencies varies between a load remaining in position and not moving in relation to the vehicle in any incident, irrespective of the severity and deceleration involved and the current DfT guidance that loads should withstand forces of up to 1G, which is the current universally-applied level. Operators are therefore in a legal limbo."

Issues which the TRL will be examining that could affect an employer's duty of care to its employees include:

• Restraining of cargo and fi xed equipment
• Retro-fitment of electronic systems and driver aids
• Alterations to the vehicle structure
• Fitment of racking systems and internal and external load carrying.

A TRL spokesman said: "The performance of these items in normal driving conditions poses little risk.

"However in a crash, the forces experienced mean that the performance requirements of vehicle modifications and restraining systems need to be considerably more robust - as much as 20 times greater. Without expertise in vehicle crash dynamics it can be difficult to predict this performance and anticipate the risk before it is too late."

Announcing the start of the research programme, FTA utilities working group member Paul Wood said: "Our goal is to make vehicles safer and stay one step ahead of the legislation. It is apparent that across the transport industry there is now little or no guidance as to the reasonable expectation of how loads and their associated stowage should perform in accidents.

"While the incidence of injuries caused by loads in accidents is statistically very low, the consequence of trying to resolve this particularly difficult problem without guidance is giving grave concern to people charged with providing solutions.

"Against the background of zero injury expectation, irrespective of the incident, along with the imminent corporate manslaughter legislation, it is necessary for operators and enforcement agencies to establish a reliable, reasonable and above all practical guidance on these issues."

He said the TRL research would help establish what can be relied upon as good practice in load securing and vehicle construction.

"The results will be used to guide operators, like us, vehicle manufacturers and equipment suppliers. I am also sure that this guide will be welcomed by the enforcement agencies as the current uncertainty must make policing this issue very difficult indeed."

Mr Wood added a sobering thought: "We are hearing a lot about the risk of handguns in society. But this is minimal compared to the risk of being hurt in a vehicle."

Live tests confirm worst fears

Crash test one

The first test involved what was probably a typical builder's van that we see every day on the roads.

On board was a pallet of bricks, a generator, some road cones and tools, along with some DIY racking. On the roof was a plastic tube carrier filled with copper piping and the load weighed 515kg, about half the van's official payload.

The vehicle was crashed at 30mph. The racking virtually disintegrated. The bricks were almost all broken in half.

The whole load piled itself into the bulkhead, snapping it off and pushing it into the cab. The plastic tube carrier snapped off and its contents went flying forwards at a velocity enough to harpoon a passer-by.

When we watched a slow motion film of the crash, the load had pushed itself forward into the back of the driver's seat. As the driver was being restrained from going forwards by the seatbelt, it is likely that he would have suffered major injury.

Crash test two

This van was fitted with a racking system from Sortimo. The racking was filled with various sized packages and there were some odd items such as traffic cones strapped in with proper restraining leashes. The total load measured 350kg. After the crash, it had hardly altered. The racking was slightly bent, but the packets on the shelf stayed where they were.

Sortimo spearheads new safety initiative

Sortimo has already put its own products and other DIY systems through rigorous crash tests and is now getting together with the TRL, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the Freight Transport Association (FTA) to draw up a best practice guide for all van racking firms.

The hope is that within five years, new legislation will be passed so that all van racking will have to be tested in much the same way that vehicles are tested under the European New Car Assessment Programme.

Speaking at the CV Show at the NEC in Birmingham, Sortimo sales manager Chris Jones said: "Our best practice guide should be ready within 18 months but it will take about five years before any of this will become legislation.

"It is amazing, but at present there are no legal tests required at all before firms can start selling van racking systems and we want to change that. People don't realise how much damage can be caused when cargo starts flying about after a crash. For example, a screwdriver in a van which crashed at 30 mph will move forward with a velocity equal to a weight of 11 tons. It's a frightening thought."

Mr Jones said the other reason Sortimo had carried out tests was that fleet buyers were becoming increasingly aware of their duty of care responsibilities and many were now asking about the safety of racking and what would happen in the event of an accident. First the company loaded the body of a van fitted with its racking system on to a sled at the independent TRL in Crowthorne, Berkshire. The racking, weighing 150 kg, was loaded with sandbags weighing approximately 365kg and the sled accelerated to 31mph before crashing into a barrier to stop it in a few milliseconds.

Although the vehicle fittings were distorted in the direction of travel, the load remained in place and even the sandbags in the boxes had not budged. The driver and passenger would have survived as the special Sortimo floor installation transferred the impact forces into the van body itself.

A second live crash test used a homemade DIY system installed into an identical vehicle body with a total weight of 446kg for the racking and sandbags load. As the van hit the barrier, the load shot forward, filling the cab space. Anyone sitting there would probably have been killed.

Mr Jones said: "We had invited journalists and professional fleet managers to witness the demonstration and few would have believed the devastating effects had they not seen it for themselves.

"Our own racks were an anti-climax in some ways, because nothing happened of any consequence. But the results of using home made racks really made it obvious how dangerous this practice can be. And these racks were metal - the results would have been all the more devastating had they been of the wooden variety that is frequently used. The van doesn't have to crash for the fatality to occur. An emergency stop on the motorway might be all it needs to create this potentially fatal situation."

Mercedes builds the world's safest van

The vehicle - a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (pictured) - is loaded to the gills with safety devices, some which come as standard fitment on the Sprinter and others which are paid-for options. In all, a total of 43 extras have been added, as a one-off exercise to show the firm's commitment to building safe vehicles.

The safety devices fall into four categories - passive safety, fatigue safety, load safety and active safety.

Under passive safety, the van has a driver's airbag, improved crash performance design, seatbelt tensioners and a low intrusion dashboard, all of which are standard fitment. Extras include passenger, side and thorax airbags.

Mercedes-Benz van sales and marketing director Steve Bridge commented: "We've built a high level of passive safety in to our vans by design. A high strength body construction is a central component to this. Rigorous internal approval tests have resulted in impressive performance."

Under fatigue safety, the van has a four-way adjustable driver's seat and excellent visibility as standard. Extras include steering wheel height adjustment, mobile phone integration, sat-nav, electric windows and heated mirrors, automatic transmission, air conditioning, comfort seats and a full width rear step.

Mr Bridge said: "An ergonomically-designed driving area plays an essential role in driver concentration. Ensuring that controls are within easy reach and that the layout is logical helps to promote relaxed, stress-free driving."

Under load safety, the van has as standard central locking, a steel bulkhead, non-slip wooden floor and a rear grab handle. Extras include an alarm system, ply lining, waist-level securing rails and load-securing straps.

Mr Bridge commented: "When it comes to load safety, central locking is essential. One press of a button and all the doors are locked, keeping opportunist thieves at bay."

Finally under active safety, the Sprinter features as standard adaptive electronic stability control, anti-lock brakes, acceleration skid control, brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution. Extras include a Parktronic system, headlamp washers, rear view camera, a seatbelt warning, light and rain sensors, reversing alarm, a third brake lamp and a speed limiter.

Mr Bridge commented: "Active safety has always been a priority for Mercedes-Benz and we have already pioneered a number of technologies. The most recent is adaptive electronic stability control that takes a van's load into account. A high performance braking system is also essential so our vans are equipped with a state-of-the-art dual-circuit brake system."

The van is being exhibited at venues across the country.

Customers feel the benefits first-hand

During that time hundreds of fleet operators and small business users were able to test various vans and trucks in a number of challenging situations, while experts from the firm were on hand to explain how devices such as anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control actually work.

One of the modules, for example, put the ESC system through its paces. Customers were able to take a van on to a wet track and 'snake' the vehicle while under heavy braking.

The ESC system kept the vehicles on the track by adjusting the brakes on different wheels every time it felt the vehicle losing traction.

Mercedes-Benz van sales and marketing director Steve Bridge said: "It is all very well us talking about how good our ESP system is, but the only way to find out exactly what it can do is by using it.

"Our customers were amazed at how the vans kept on the track under some severe conditions and all of them very much enjoyed their day, as well as learning a great deal about safety.

"Many of them are also well aware of the increasing duty of care legislation that affects van operators and it was very useful to see how easily a safe van can actively prevent accidents."

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