Aerodynamic truck cabs aim for greener, safer operation across the EU
By Jim Gibbins - 1st March 2020
UK / EU - EU regulators voted in February 2019 to relax restrictions on truck cab lengths, in return for the adoption of cab design requirements which improve aerodynamics and could reduce the 4,200 truck associated road deaths and serious injuries experienced by European cyclists and pedestrians each year. The EU Weights & Dimensions regulations have been amended and become effective on September 1, 2020.
Underpinning this decision was based on a cost-benefit analysis by Wokingham, UK-based TRL (Transport Research Laboratory), which evaluated a range of vehicle safety features both separately and in combination. TRL’s report enabled EU regulators to assess the cost-effectiveness of the range of potential policy options and prioritise these based on their potential to improve the safety of longer truck cab designs for vulnerable road users (VRUs).
