News

The safety of vans and the safe securing of loads and equipment will be the subject of a Freight Transport Association (FTA) research project. Consultant TRL will work with the FTA to establish best practice for load retention, taking into account practicality. The best-practice guide will also consider the typical forces experienced by the vehicle  and its load, including racking, in the event of a collision.

The FTA says there is need for clarification on loading because the long-standing code of practice issued by the Department for Transport (DfT) on safe loading can no longer be relied upon by operators some enforcement agencies merely hold that loads must remain in position while in transit, while others hold that loads must not move in relation to the vehicle in any incident, irrespective of its severity and the decelerations involved.

The current DfT guidance states that loads should withstand forces of up to 1G. Paul Wood, managing director of VLS and a member of the FTA's Utilities Working Group, says the research will help establish what can be relied upon as good practice in load securing and vehicle construction.

UPDATE:

TRL has performed a startling demonstration of what happens to an unsecured load when a van crashes at 30mph; you can see a video of  the TRL van crash on Will Shiers' blog here.