Research and development work carried out worldwide on vehicle safety tends to focus heavily on protecting vehicle occupants from being injured during the initial collision between their vehicle and another vehicle or object. This paper outlines work carried out by Telstra (Telecom Australia) to secure loads carried in vehicles such as station wagons and forward control vans, where the load can break free during a collision and strike the vehicle occupants - they can therefore be victims of two collisions in one accident. Australia leads the world in setting standards for cargo barriers, but these are limited in their ability to stop flying loads, and should only be treated as a secondary line of defence. Anchorage systems developed by Telstra have restrained loads of up to one tonne in vans during impact with a concrete barrier at speeds up to 50 kph. (A)
Abstract