Truck and Track Autumn 2026 www.truckandtrack.com 12 BUSINESS NEWS Type Approval or Directive 2007/46EC was the beginning of a new era for the body building industry. For many bodybuilders it heralded an end of business. The very thought of the additional costs and increased bureaucracy were just too much to bear. Often operating on small profit margins, or in some cases, where the proprietor was close to retirement age formulated a decision to finally “shut up shop”. Those that wanted to grow their business embraced the concept and put the necessary resources in place to remain both competitive and prosperous. What it is Type Approval Broadly speaking the purpose of Type Approval can be summed up as follows: Type Approval is used to verify that a product conforms to established technical, safety and regulatory requirements. The process gives an assurance that the product is safe, fit for purpose and in the case of commercial vehicles (including trailers) will help to reduce the risk of accidents. The complete vehicle with bodywork and other additional equipment must comply with UK road vehicle standards and performance criteria before it can be registered and put into operation. Prior to the introduction of Type Approval, we saw many poorly manufactured items which although at that time were not illegal but clearly had never even been tested! Designing, testing and getting a product into production is a lengthy and expensive procedure. There are no short cuts and the whole process is very necessary if the final product that eventually evolves will be safe, conforms to legislation and is durable. When the UK joined the EU in 1973, we aligned with the EU’s Type Approval regulations and on leaving in 2020 we still broadly continue to use the current EU Type Approval rules. However, as far as the UK is concerned the function comes fully under the control of the VCA (Vehicle Certification Agency). All round protection Side Guards or lateral protection systems and Rear Underrun Protection are important elements of Type Approval. Commercial Body Fittings (CBF) is one of the UK’s largest suppliers of sideguards. Their series ASGK 990 system comprises of component parts designed to meet all bodywork and trucks dimensional criteria. There are four different length hinged side support legs available allowing for convenient mounting positions and ease of access to chassis mounted equipment. Single or double horizontal guide rails can be fitted to the support legs depending on the configuration and application. To finish off the installation the appropriate length pedestrian end rail kit is required. All of the side support legs and the side rails are marked with the “E” approval marking (E 11 73R-011005). The “E” number indicates that the whole kit has been tested and approved by the VCA and complies with the requirements of “Whole Vehicle Type Approval” (UNECE regulation 73). Type Approval
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