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Trucks are now even safer: With the new rear underride guard from HELLA

26-11-2021

Vehicle safety developments are on the move in the commercial vehicle sector too. And that is a good thing. After all, collisions with large and heavy vehicles can often be fatal for smaller road users. Most recently, the turning assistant for trucks and buses made it into the news with positive headlines. But there is still a lot going on in the area of passive safety as well, for example with rear underride guards.

In UNECE Regulation number 58, which is also recognised outside Europe, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) defines uniform conditions for the approval of rear underride guard systems, in particular for trucks and trailers. These are designed to prevent the body or cargo bed from being driven under in the event of a collision between smaller vehicles and the rear of trucks or their trailers. This should significantly reduce the consequences and severity of an accident. In order to further enhance the safety of other road users, UNECE Regulation number 58 has been revised.

UNECE-R 58: Significantly more road safety

The latest version of UNECE-R 58 places significantly more stringent requirements on manufacturers. As of 1 September 2021, an underride guard as per UNECE R58-03 is mandatory for all newly homologated trucks from classes N2 and N3 (total mass > 3.5 t) and trailers from classes O3 and O4 (total mass > 3.5 t)! Compared to the old regulation, the test forces stipulated in the new UNECE R58-03 have been almost doubled! Another new requirement is that the transverse profile of the underride guard unit may now only move upwards to a limited extent during the strength test. Other features include a reduction in the permissible ground clearance under the transverse profile. This means that the rear underride guard should also withstand the impact of heavy passenger cars in particular.

The robust aluminium underride guard from HELLA ensures greater road safety.

The aluminium underride guard from HELLA ensures greater safety on the roads. Source: HELLA

The new underride guard from HELLA meets all the requirements of UNECE-R 58 – easily. The new component is made of resistant aluminium and has an impressive robust construction. But that was not enough for us. Therefore, our new underride guard as per UNECE-R 58 is available with some additional features that have been consistently well thought out.

New HELLA underride guard: robust construction, clever additional features

The HELLA underride guard is available with two different brackets that allow it to be fitted to vehicles with different chassis heights. Thanks to its flexible mounting position, the new component can also be used for different track widths. And thanks to completely customisable hole patterns, the solution offers maximum modular freedom. In addition, the new underride guard from HELLA can be painted in various RAL colours and fitted with a rubber splash flap.

Thanks to its flexible mounting position, the new underride guard from HELLA can be used for several track widths.

The new underride guard from HELLA can be used for several track widths. Source: HELLA

This means that the new HELLA underride guard for trucks not only meets the latest legal requirements and significantly increases road safety as a result. The product also offers every truck and trailer manufacturer the right solution for their products.

 

More information in this explanatory video: DE: HELLA underride guard| HELLA EN: HELLA underride guard | HELLA