Side Guards on Vehicles – A Guide for Haulage Companies

The Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA) have issued new guidelines covering side guards for commercial vehicles, aimed at haulage companies and the wider public.

Accidents

The potential risks to road users and pedestrians arising from the nature of trailers have been known about for a long time.

One of the best known and most controversial of those comes about from the tendency for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians to end up underneath the trailer in the event of a side-on collision. Many responsible haulage companies installed side guards, also known as Lateral Protection Devices (LPDs), to their vehicles long before the 1980s legislation. The act indicated a responsible attitude in the industry towards road safety.

However, it is equally clear that not all of these sideguards have been effective or, in the past, even necessarily well designed. Some experts have argued that poorly designed side guards may put people at a greater than necessary risk, should an accident occur.

New Guidelines

That is partly why the DVSA has now introduced a new and clarified set of guidelines covering this important road safety device.

The idea is to simplify and clarify what is required in specific circumstances – as well as outline exemptions. Their new guidelines also make it very clear for all haulage companies exactly what type of side guard is required for particular trailers. This hasn’t always been clear in the past or well understood by people in the business.

These guidelines are available online and are not only very informative, but also make refreshingly easy reading.

Greater Safety Drive

Few haulage companies would dispute that over recent years the industry has been subject a considerable amount of negative publicity following accidents involving trailers.

As a result of this, they are very keen to take advantage of the latest technology to help make their vehicles safer on the road. These guidelines can be seen as part of that overall process, but there are also other important developments such as reversing cameras, 360-degree visibility, dash-cams and sensors – all of which could all be used to help make commercial vehicles less dangerous.

While the vast majority of professionals involved in freight haulage are extremely law abiding and responsible, it is important also to address the occasional individual or company who is not. The publication, therefore, ensures that non-compliance in the future can’t be put down to lack of information.

It is imperative that all haulage companies make the effort to read the new guidelines and ask any questions in the event something is perceived as unclear. This is an important initiative and one that deserves the full support of all haulage companies and individuals working within road transport.