The accident risk presented by delivery vans - so-called 'Kleintransporter' - has been hitting the headlines in German media for some years now. Reports indicate that the number of accidents involving delivery vans has risen rapidly, that the brakes on such vehicles are weak, that their cargo is poorly secured and the speeds driven by delivery van drivers are too high. The accident risk presented by delivery vans has also become part of a political and legal discussion. The most frequent call heard is for a speed limit restricting delivery vans to speeds, for example, of 120 kph. In 1998, DEKRA Accident Research started a pilot study to examine the accident outcome of delivery vans in Germany. This was conducted to provide a broader base of well-founded knowledge for the highly charged discussions that were taking place at that time. Since then, the studies have been continued by carrying out sampling more in-depth-studies and statistical analyses of the accidents and running tests to asses the primary and secondary safety performance of these vehicles. Studies and results gleaned from other authorities were also included into the ongoing process of generating knowledge about the incidence and the risk of delivery vans in road accidents. This contribution will give an update. It shows what information is given by official statistics and what is based on DEKRA's in-depth-accident research, on crash tests and on tests to assess the primary safety of delivery vans. This is the basis to give some proposals for improving the situation. Most of DEKRA's proposals are in harmony with proposals made by other authorities, for example better education and training for drivers of delivery vans and monitoring of working hours. But there is one point of difference: We do not see any major potential in imposing a permanent technical speed limit an delivery vans in the range of 100 to 130 kph. Although speeding is an important factor among the causes of accidents - they also happen at lower speeds. Transport and mobility with its aspects of safety and quality should be seen holistically. In this context the article tries to add something to the actual debate.
Sicherheit von Transportern - Erkenntnisse und Empfehlungen der DEKRA Unfallforschung
Safety of delivery vans - Cognitions and recommendations of DEKRA accident research
2004
15 Seiten, 13 Bilder, 12 Quellen
Conference paper
German
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