Samenvatting
The purpose of this paper is to present an overall view of the contribution that heavy goods vehicles make to the road accident situation; this being one factor of importance in considering goods transport by road. This overview is based on the accident situation in Great Britain, mostly for the year 1974, but it probably reflects the situations in other European countries. The second half of the paper discusses the desirable accident avoidance features that can be built in to heavy goods vehicles by affecting their handling and braking. Injury protection for occupants can also be improved, but the major problem is injuries caused to other road users and design features are discussed which should reduce these injuries. (Author/publisher)