Car industry: front underrun protection of motor vehicles (amend. Directive 70/156/EEC)

PURPOSE: to reduce the number of persons killed or seriously injured in road accidents by introducing new standards regarding front underrun protection of heavy commercial vehicles. CONTENT: Commercial vehicles with a mass exceeding 3.5 tonnes are involved in between 25 and 30% of fatal accidents in the EU. The seriousness of a collision between a car and a heavy truck is linked to the ratio between their relative mass and speed. The ability for the occupants of the car to survive depends on the compatibility between the shock absorption structure of the car and the front structure of the heavy vehicle. For this reason, the proposed Directive lays down legislative measures that seek to improve the front underrun protection of heavy commercial vehicles. It would apply to new vehicles with type approval after a certain date and lays down a test procedure which would represent in a realistic way a typical head-on collision between a car and a heavy vehicle. The proposal integrates technical specifications drawn up by the UN ECE.�