Research background

Records from the Road Safety Thailand indicates that the most common and severe forms of accidents are trucks undergoing rear-end collision or side collision while parking on the hard shoulder. These accidents mostly happen at night and at least 60 accidents happen per year with an average of one death per week.

Apart from solving these problems by providing parking areas, there are also effective technical methods used in foreign countries, namely, installing the underrun protection devices on the side and rear of the truck to prevent the vehicle that crashes into it from getting crushed underneath.

So far, many truck manufacturers in Thailand have installed the protective devices on the side (Lateral Underrun Protection Device, LUPD) and the rear (Rear Underrun Protection Device, RUPD). However, these devices are not so widespread and are not subject to standards. The research team, therefore, had developed the engineering design of these protective devices conforming to the internationally accepted standards by cooperating with the Automotive Engineering Bureau of the Department of Land Transport and representatives from truck manufacturers.

Research objective

The research team plans to develop the engineering design of the side and rear protective devices, as well as drafts the regulations of these devices used for transporting animals or goods, and the regulations of production inspection and installation for the side and rear protective devices. These regulations, once legalized, constitute a guideline for truck manufacturers in Thailand.

What does the research team do?

1. Study of the international standards related to the designation of the side and rear protective devices, such as UN R58 and UN R73.

2. Study on the problems and finding solutions with truck manufacturers in Thailand and the Department of Land Transport.

3. Application of the Morphological matrix or the combination of sub-functions of the individual parts to be able to interchange with the main parts for the design of the side and rear protective devices of the trucks in Thailand with 7 styles, totaling 90 designs for a ready-for-production engineering design.

4. Analysis and testing of prototypes conforming to the regulations in the standard.

5. Planning of the testing process for certification.

6. Establishment of the guidelines and formulation of proposals for drafting regulations for the production inspection and installation of the side and rear protective devices.