LCV BULKHEAD's MAY BE DANGEROUS TO VEHICLE OCCUPANTS

There are a small number of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) currently in the Australian marketplace that feature a factory fitted bulkhead behind the occupant's seating positions.  While these bulkheads may appear to offer restraint to load in a crash or emergency situation, this may not always be the case!  Unless a factory bulkhead is rated to the Australian Standard for cargo barriers, the protection offered may indeed be minimal and the feeling of security illusionary.

The Australian/New Zealand Standard for cargo barriers requires that a cargo barrier shall, without the likelihood of causing injury to a vehicle's occupants, remain intact and not deform more than a prescribed amount in a test environment where a single mass of no less than 60 kilograms impacts the barrier at a force equivalent to a 49 km/h or 20 gram collision.  The resultant impacted force in this type of test equates to some 1,200 kilograms!

Milford Industries, being a leading organisation in the field of vehicle load restraint, conducts an ongoing test program of Original Equipment and Aftermarket restraint products.  When we investigated the merits of this type of bulkhead their experience suggested that if it was a non rated part it would in all likelihood fall well short of accepted safety regulations and so it proved.

Alarmingly, when Milford tested the factory fitted bulkhead of one of Australia's highest selling LCV's to the AS/NZS Cargo Barrier Standard, the results observed were of great concern.

• The bulkhead failed to restrain the load.
• Excessive amounts of metal shrapnel were dislodged and flew forward into the cabin area of the vehicle.
• The bulkhead's glass window exploded sending substantial amounts of flying glass into the cockpit area.
• The bulkhead itself came apart at a middle seam and separated into two pieces.
• Up to 75% of the attaching fasteners failed and thereby contributed to the bulkhead detaching from the body of the vehicle and ultimately separating.

The level of restraint available on this bulkhead was shown to be virtually non existent and therefore pose a serious risk to the occupants of this particular vehicle.  Milford recommends that all LCV owners ensure that an Australian/New Zealand Standard rated cargo barrier is always fitted to offer the best possible level of protection.  Australian Standard rated cargo barriers feature a label that highlights compliance with the AS/NZS 4034 Standard.

Click on the Media link below to view a video of the test.