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Maintenance & Safety

ADAS struggling to detect trailers, underrun bars failing, Euro NCAP warns

Euro NCAP found that approximately 400 fatalities across the UK and EU each year can be attributed to cars sliding beneath a HGV.

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Euro NCAP has warned that some advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) struggle to detect the rear end of trailers, preventing automatic braking from working as intended.

It found that approximately 400 fatalities across the UK and EU each year can be attributed to cars sliding beneath a heavy goods vehicle (HGV).

The investigation, supported by National Highways, identified two flaws: poor performance of older ADAS and issues with safety guards fitted to the rear of trailers, which fail to prevent cars from sliding beneath them.

One test conducted in Germany resulted in a trailer’s rear underrun bar failing, which destroyed the test car’s occupant compartment.

The car used had a high-performing crash structure, but was unable to properly deform due to the poor impact resistance of the rear underrun bar.

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Euro NCAP called for the introduction of tougher standards for trailers, such as the IIHS TOUGHGUARD standard used in the US, to prevent these accidents.

When tested against laboratory Global Vehicle Targets (GVTs), all cars detected the threat and stopped in time.

However, when tested on real HGV rear-ends, including curtainside and skeletal trailers, multiple vehicles failed to detect the threat.

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Euro NCAP said that crash protection needs to be improved today, as it will take more than 15 years before most cars are able to avoid stationary trailers.

Matthew Avery, director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, said: “International research has revealed the devastating flaws of the rear safety guards fitted to the hundreds of thousands of trailers and trucks operating throughout Europe and the UK.

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“This is grave cause for concern. We have spent decades improving the safety of passenger vehicles, but those structures and restraint systems are rendered inadequate in the event of a trailer rear underrun, which is why we are seeing such a high fatality rate associated with this type of accident. And that is unacceptable.

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“The legislation behind Europe’s truck and trailer safety needs to be updated as a matter of urgency to help prevent this type of impact that can prove potentially fatal.

“The good news is that the template already exists in the US with the IIHS voluntary TOUGHGUARD standard; the sooner the rear impact guards on Europe’s and UK’s trucks and trailers are updated, the better so future lives can be saved.”

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