ANNIE ALLEN (UK Bureau Chief)
A chilling international investigation has uncovered a deadly flaw lurking on Europe’s highways: the safety systems meant to protect motorists in crashes with trucks and trailers are failing disastrously, contributing to an estimated 400 deaths every year.
The bombshell findings by Euro NCAP and leading road safety organisations have exposed a double catastrophe. First, many vehicles’ crash-avoidance systems fail to recognise real-life trucks and trailers. Second, the steel barriers fitted beneath trailers to stop cars from sliding underneath often collapse during impact.
The result is devastating.
In some crashes, the rear of a trailer cuts directly into a passenger car, destroying the occupant compartment and leaving little chance of survival.
Researchers carried out a series of real-world crash tests and the results were horrifying. In one test, a trailer’s rear safety guard offered virtually no resistance as the vehicle ploughed underneath. In another, the underrun protection system failed completely.
Safety experts concluded that even modern five-star-rated cars become almost helpless when the trailer’s protective structure gives way.
“This is grave cause for concern,” warned Matthew Avery of Euro NCAP.
“The current regulations are not fit for purpose.”
“Hundreds of lives could be saved if safer standards were adopted.”
The numbers are alarming: approximately 400 people die every year in Europe and the UK in rear underrun crashes; it could take more than 15 years before most vehicles on the road have sufficiently advanced technology to reliably avoid stationary trailers; meanwhile, 70 per cent of new trailers in North America already use the stronger TOUGHGUARD safety standard.
The question is unavoidable: why are Europe’s roads still carrying hundreds of thousands of trucks and trailers fitted with safety systems that experts now say are dangerously inadequate?
According to Euro NCAP, the answer lies partly in outdated regulations. The organisation says the current European standard for rear underrun protection is fundamentally weak and urgently requires reform. It is now calling on lawmakers, trailer manufacturers and fleet operators to adopt stronger protection systems similar to those already widely used in the United States.
Until that happens, road safety campaigners warn that hundreds more motorists could continue to die in crashes that modern engineering already knows how to prevent.
The technology exists. The solution exists. What remains missing is the urgency to act.
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