Acklea | VCA accredited under-run meets new legislation and increases safety for vehicle crews and road users

Acklea ensures it stays at the forefront of safety and legislation by meeting new safety regulations way ahead of schedule.

Since the introduction of the Scorpion Crash Cushion in the UK, Acklea has provided a whole vehicle type approved
solution which uniquely includes the rear underrun as an integral part of the crash cushion mounting plate and chassis attachment frame.

Acklea has now successfully met the new UN Regulation 58R-03 standard with the VCA for its rear under-run. So, when the Acklea vehicle is presented for Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) or National Small Series it can be proudly presented as a fully compliant vehicle from front bumper to rear under-run.

The Under-run

A vital component for road worker safety, the underrun prevents a colliding vehicle from being able to get underneath the work vehicle and either elevate or cause further damage – protecting both the workforce on board and other road users.

The Acklea under-run has been developed to meet new regulation for Rear Under-Run Protection Devices commonly abbreviated to RUPD’s that will come into force in September of 2021. Any new vehicle that is registered on or after 1st  September 2021 will need to meet the new legislation.

The new regulations require:

• Heavier structural dimensions
• Significantly increased test forces at some test points the load applied is double current requirements from 50kN to 100kN
• Stricter, more fair test set-up
• Lower ground clearance
• Shorter rear overhang

Andy Dougan from Acklea told us:

“The development of the under-run was born from the need to keep our crash cushion at the forefront of legislation – it is after all, a safety product.

“Meeting the standards of the new legislation, the rubber stamp from VCA can provide peace of mind to any Acklea
customer that when our Scorpion crash cushions are deployed or moving from one location to another in the stowed position they have a vehicle and crash cushion that is fully compliant.

“Moving forward, with these new standards in place, any customer should seek assurance from their crash cushion provider that all elements of their underrun, including the support brackets, are fully tested and compliant with the new regulations.”

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