Image: Euro NCAP

Truck operators are being strongly encouraged by vehicle safety rating specialist Euro NCAP to request retrofit under-run protection solutions from trailer makers, after testing found that current European-mandated systems were ineffective in protecting passenger car occupants whose vehicles run into the rear of trailers.

Such collisions could account for around 400 road deaths a year across the EU and UK, the organisation said following the crash tests, which were initiated by National Highways – the body responsible for operating and maintaining England’s motorways and major A-roads – in partnership with Euro NCAP and other European road safety organisations.

Rear-end shunts accounted for 39 per cent of all HGV collisions in 2024, says National Highways, and were the most common type. 18 per cent of all HGV-related fatalities and serious injuries involved a vehicle hitting the back of an HGV.

In the tests, two different commonly used trailers were selected, both fitted with European-regulation UN ECE R58.03 rear underrun protection systems that are designed to protect car occupants in such collisions. In one case, the trailer bed sliced directly through the car passenger compartment, “inflicting fatal head and neck injuries to the crash test dummy”; and in the other, the rear underrun bar failed and the passenger compartment was destroyed.

Compounding the problem, separate tests conducted by Euro NCAP revealed that some older passenger car Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) were not as good as detecting real HGV rears – such as curtainsider and skeletal trailers, as well as the impact protection vehicles used to shield personnel on live roadworks – as they were in lab tests.

Further information:

https://transportoperator.co.uk/2026/07/16/national-highways-highlights-hgv-rear-collision-risk/