Section 223 - Rear Impact Guards

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MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY ACT

Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations

Standard 223

Rear Impact Guards (Standard 223)

Interpretation

223. (1) The definitions in this subsection apply in this section.

"dangerous goods"

« marchandises dangereuses »

"dangerous goods" has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992.

"ground clearance"

« garde au sol »

"ground clearance" means the vertical distance from the bottom edge of a horizontal member to the ground.

"guard width"

« largeur du dispositif de protection »

"guard width" means, in respect of a rear impact guard that is installed on a trailer, the maximum horizontal guard dimension that is perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical plane passing through the longitudinal centreline of the trailer.

"horizontal member"

« pièce horizontale »

"horizontal member" means the horizontal structural member of a rear impact guard.

"hydraulic guard"

« dispositif de protection hydraulique »

"hydraulic guard" means a rear impact guard designed to use fluid properties to provide a resistance force to deformation.

"low-chassis trailer"

« remorque à châssis surbaissé »

"low-chassis trailer" means a trailer that has a chassis that extends behind the rearmost point of the rearmost tires and that has a lower rear surface that meets the configuration requirements of subsections (6) to (8).

"outboard"

« extérieur »

"outboard" means, in respect of a trailer, away from the trailer centreline and toward the side extremities of the trailer.

"pulpwood trailer"

« remorque pour bois à pâte »

"pulpwood trailer" means a trailer that is designed exclusively to carry harvested logs or pulpwood and that is constructed with a skeletal frame with no means for the attachment of a solid bed, body or container.

"rear extremity"

« extrémité arrière »

"rear extremity" means the rearmost point on a trailer that is above a horizontal plane located above the ground clearance and below a horizontal plane located 1 900 mm above the ground when the trailer is configured as specified in subsection (7) and when the trailer's cargo doors, tailgate and other permanent structures are positioned as they normally are when the trailer is in motion, with non-structural protrusions such as tail lamps, rubber bumpers, hinges and latches excluded from the determination of the rearmost point.

"rear impact guard"

« dispositif de protection arrière »

"rear impact guard" means a device installed on or near the rear of a trailer so that, when the trailer is struck from the rear, the device limits the distance that the striking vehicle's front end slides under the rear end of the trailer.

"rounded corners"

« coins arrondis »

"rounded corners" means the outermost ends of a rear impact guard's horizontal member that curve upward.

"side extremity"

« extrémité latérale »

"side extremity" means the outermost point on a trailer's side that is above a horizontal plane located above the ground clearance, below a horizontal plane located 1 900 mm above the ground, and between a transverse vertical plane tangent to the rear extremity of the trailer and a transverse vertical plane located 305 mm forward of that plane, with non-structural protrusions such as tail lamps, rubber bumpers, hinges and latches excluded from the determination of the outermost point.

"tanker trailer"

« remorque-citerne »

"tanker trailer" means a trailer that is designed exclusively to transport dangerous goods and that meets the rear impact protection requirements of National Standard of Canada CAN/CSA-B620-98, Highway Tanks and Portable Tanks for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (August 1998), including Appendices A and B, as amended in April 1999, March 2000, July 2000, April 2001, November 2001 and May 2002, published by CSA.

"wheels back trailer"

« remorque à roues arrière reculées »

"wheels back trailer" means a trailer whose rearmost axle is permanently fixed and located such that the rearmost surface of the rearmost tires of the size recommended by the trailer manufacturer for that axle is not more than 305 mm forward of the transverse vertical plane tangent to the rear extremity of the trailer.

Application

(2) This section applies to every trailer with a GVWR of 4 536 kg or more other than

(a) a pole trailer, a pulpwood trailer, a wheels back trailer or a trailer designed to be used as temporary living quarters;

(b) a low-chassis trailer; and

(c) a trailer designed to interact with, or having, work-performing equipment located in or moving through the area that would be occupied by a horizontal member that meets the configuration requirements of subsections (6) to (8).

Rear Impact Guard Requirement

(3) Every trailer shall be equipped with a rear impact guard that meets the configuration requirements of subsections (5) to (8), as well as the applicable test requirements of subsections (9) to (12) when tested in accordance with Test Method 223 — Rear Impact Guard (December 2003).

(4) Until September 1, 2007, instead of being equipped with a rear impact guard in accordance with subsection (3), at the option of the manufacturer who installs the rear impact guard, a trailer may be equipped with a rear impact guard that is installed in accordance with Technical Standards Document No. 224 — Rear Impact Protection, as amended from time to time and labelled in accordance with section 571.223 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States, Title 49 (revised as of October 1, 2000).

Configuration Requirements

(5) The horizontal member of a rear impact guard shall have a cross-sectional vertical height of at least 100 mm at any point across the guard width when installed on a trailer.

(6) The outermost surfaces of the horizontal member shall extend outboard to within 100 mm of the longitudinal vertical planes that are tangent to the side extremities, but shall not extend outboard of those planes.

(7) When the trailer is resting on level ground, unloaded, with its full capacity of fuel, its tires inflated and its air suspension, if so equipped, pressurized in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, the ground clearance shall not exceed 560 mm at any point across the full width of the horizontal member. However, rounded corners may curve upward within 255 mm of the longitudinal vertical planes that are tangent to the side extremities.

(8) At any height above the ground clearance, the rearmost surface of the horizontal member shall be located as close as practicable to a transverse vertical plane tangent to the rear extremity of the trailer, and no more than 305 mm forward of that plane, as shown in Figure 1. However, the horizontal member may extend rearward of the plane.

Test Requirements

(9) Every rear impact guard shall demonstrate resistance to the following forces applied at the P1 and P2 test locations shown in Figure 2 by deflecting no more than 125 mm:

(a) 50 000 N at test location P1 on either the left or the right side of the guard if it is symmetrical, but both sides must be independently tested if the guard is not symmetrical; and

(b) 50 000 N at test location P2.

(10) Subject to subsection (11), every rear impact guard shall,

(a) by deflecting no more than 125 mm, demonstrate resistance to a uniform test load of at least 350 000 N, which shall be applied uniformly across the horizontal member by a uniform load application structure centred on the guard, as shown in Figure 2 of Test Method 223 — Rear Impact Guard (December 2003);

(b) in the case of a guard that demonstrates resistance to a uniform test load of 700 000 N or less, other than a hydraulic guard or one installed on a tanker trailer, absorb by plastic deformation at least 20 000 J of energy within the first 125 mm of deflection; and

(c) have a ground clearance not exceeding 560 mm, measured at any one support to which the horizontal member is attached, as shown in Figure 3, after completion of the energy absorption test or, if that test is not required, after completion of the uniform load test.

(11) In the case of a rear impact guard that is symmetrical about the longitudinal vertical plane passing through the centre of the horizontal member, one half of the guard may be tested in accordance with subsection (12) if it is completely severed from the portion of the guard not being tested.

(12) When one half of a rear impact guard is tested it shall,

(a) by deflecting no more than 125 mm, demonstrate resistance to a test load of at least 175 000 N, which shall be applied

(i) uniformly across the tested portion of the horizontal member by a uniform load application structure centred on that portion, as shown in Figure 2 of Test Method 223 — Rear Impact Guard (December 2003), or

(ii) by a single point load at one of the P3 test locations on the tested portion of the horizontal member, as shown in Figure 2;

(b) in the case of a tested portion of a horizontal member that demonstrates resistance to a test load of 350 000 N or less, other than a hydraulic guard or one installed on a tanker trailer, absorb by plastic deformation at least 10 000 J of energy within the first 125 mm of deflection; and

(c) have a ground clearance not exceeding 560 mm, measured at any one support to which the horizontal member is attached, as shown in Figure 3, after completion of the energy absorption test or, if that test is not required, after completion of the load test.