More than a year after its introduction, an amendment to HGV safety and visibility standards, backed by The Road Safety Trust, is proving vital in protecting vulnerable road users.
UNECE Regulation 167 is designed to maximise the area around a vehicle cab that drivers can see directly through the windows, a concept known as direct vision. This is particularly crucial for reducing collisions between HGVs and pedestrians, cyclists, and other vulnerable road users.
Research from Loughborough University, funded by The Road Safety Trust, highlighted potential shortcomings in the original 2022 regulation. The studies revealed that some vehicle designs could technically improve frontal visibility without genuinely enhancing safety.
The Loughborough team conducted multiple studies to explore different ways of defining frontal visibility volumes and tested their effectiveness in real-world scenarios. This work informed a more rigorous approach, which was later submitted as an amendment to UNECE Regulation 167.
The approved amendment introduces a two-stage assessment of frontal visibility. Vehicles must now meet both a general standard for frontal visibility and specific requirements in the most critical zones directly in front of the cab. This ensures that improvements to vehicle design translate into real safety benefits for vulnerable road users.
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) formally passed the amendment in 2024, maintaining the regulation’s effectiveness in enhancing road safety.
Ahead of Road Safety Week 2025, themed around safe vehicles, The Road Safety Trust spoke with Dr Steve Summerskill, who led the Loughborough University project. Since the amendment’s approval, Dr Summerskill has collaborated with authorities worldwide to promote similar safety standards.
Dr Summerskill commented: “The work funded by The Road Safety Trust greatly improved the rigour and application of the methods that we designed in UNECE 167. This has generated international interest, resulting in projects with the Canadian and Australian governments to adapt UNECE 167 for North American HGV designs. The Road Safety Trust provided invaluable support throughout our project.”
This amendment marks a significant step forward in improving HGV safety, demonstrating how research-led regulation and collaboration with funding bodies can save lives on the roads.
