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DOES YOUR VEHICLE CONTRIBUTE TO A CULTURE OF SAFETY?

4th November 2010

Any company running vehicles on busy highways knows how important it is to create a safe working environment.

Chevronshop.com specialises in helping companies with fleets of trucks and vans to ensure that their vehicles are easily visible to other road users – and therefore much safer for all concerned – by providing markings and signage that comply with recommended safety standards.

From July 2011, there’s an important  new regulation – called ECE104 – that will standardise the use of retro-reflective safety markings on heavy goods vehicles operating throughout Europe…so now is the time to act.

This new regulation means that fleets running HGVs of 7.5 tonnes or more or trailers of 3.5 tonnes or more, will need to be fitted with retro-reflective vehicle safety markings.

Chevronshop.com, which supplies fully compliant materials and markings for vehicle fleets across the UK, is now working with customers to ensure that that their deliver trucks and trailers satisfy the rules governing both rigid and curtain sided vehicles.

What’s needed

ECE104 vehicle safety markings require 50mm to 60mm wide strips of highly reflective material to be applied to the rear and sides of vehicles, so that trucks and trailers are more visible to other road users from a distance of up to 1000 metres at night.

This ensures that commercial vehicles can be seen by motorway drivers up to 8-9 seconds earlier than would otherwise be the case and as such is a key development in reducing risk on busy roads.

Vehicle Rears

For vehicles wider that 2100mm, ECE104 requires a complete contour line   marking to the rear, using either red (preferred by the Department for Transport) or yellow marking tape. The markings should extend to at least 80% of the width of the vehicle and be placed as close as possible to the vehicle edge.

Vehicle Sides

For vehicle sides, operators must comply with one of two options – a complete contour line marking or a partial contour marking (the minimum requirement), using yellow (the preferred option) or white.

“Commercial fleet managers have a special responsibility to ensure that their vans and trucks are visible on Britain’s busy highways – because there’s much more than corporate reputation at stake when incidents occur as a result of poor vehicle conspicuity,” says Lorraine Avery of Chevronshop.com.

In fact, it is estimated that up to one third of all road traffic accidents involve someone who is driving for work, whether on the way to the next sales meeting, delivering goods, retrieving broken-down vehicles or working near to a busy road.

The rules, regulations and guidance governing the visibility of vehicles working on UK highways can be confusing…and that’s why increasing numbers of fleet managers are turning to chevronshop.com for expert advice and support.

Chevronshop is a specialist division of Bluelite Graphics, which is the UK’s leading supplier of vehicle livery and markings to police, fire and ambulance services.

Chevronshop provides an online resource and telephone help desk to ensure that fleet managers understand the latest standards governing vehicle conspicuity and are then able to specify quality assured chevrons, livery and markings that fully comply.

Along with the incoming ECE104, these requirements are captured in the Chapter 8 regulations of the Traffic Signs Manual published by the Department for Transport – and they now include a standard for fitting reflective side markings.

Commercial Conspicuity Checklist – how do you rate?

Here are just a few of the standards covering commercial fleets:

• 50mm fluorescent yellow, amber or red reflective (depending on position) striping is now recommended
• Any works vehicles that are used to protect the workforce should be of conspicuous colour and carry appropriate markings
• On high-speed roads, all vehicles stopping on the highway for works purposes should carry high visibility rear markings, including chevrons comprising alternate strips of fluorescent orange-red retroreflective material and fluorescent yellow non-retroreflective material
• Markings should cover as much of the rear-facing portion of a vehicle as possible without obscuring windows, vehicle lighting or registration plates
• Red retroreflective tape should also be applied to all rear facing edges of open doors, guardrails and equipment lockers

Chevronshop.com holds hundreds of commercial vehicle templates online to make the task of selecting and ordering rear chevrons, markings, striping, reflective texts and graphics as easy as possible. Rolls of reflective materials, corporate logos and bespoke designs can also be supplied.

Although the service has been designed to operate on-line, the company does also offer a helpline service - 0870 2208341 - to guide fleet managers through the conspicuity process and to offer specific advice on the use of colours and materials.

www.chevronshop.com

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