Technical Standards Document No. 224, Revision 0 - Rear Impact Protection

Effective Date:  September 23, 2005
Mandatory Compliance Date:  September 23, 2005

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Technical Standards Document
Number 224, Revision 0

REAR IMPACT PROTECTION

The text of this document is based on the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Volume 5, Part 571, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 224, Rear Impact Protection, revised as of October 1, 2000.

S1. Scope

This Technical Standards Document (TSD) standard establishes requirements for the installation of rear impact guards on trailers and semitrailers with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4,536 kg or more.

S2. Purpose

The purpose of this TSD standard is to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries occurring when light duty vehicles impact the rear of trailers and semitrailers with a GVWR of 4,536 kg or more.

S3. Application

[CONTENT DELETED] For applicability, please see section 223 and Schedule III to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations.

S4. Definitions

Chassis means the load-supporting frame structure of a motor vehicle. (Châssis)

* Horizontal member means the structural member of the guard that meets the configuration requirements of S5.1 of this section when the guard is installed on the vehicle according to the installation instructions or procedures required by S5.5 of Sec. 571.223, Rear Impact Guards. (Pièce horizontale)

Low chassis vehicle means a trailer or semitrailer having a chassis that extends behind the rearmost point of the rearmost tires and a lower rear surface that meets the configuration requirements of S5.1.1 through 5.1.3 of this TSD section. (Véhicule à châssis surbaissé)

Outer or Outboard means away from the trailer centerline and toward the side extremities of the trailer. (Extérieur)

Pulpwood trailer means a trailer that is designed exclusively for harvesting logs or pulpwood and constructed with a skeletal frame with no means for attachment of a solid bed, body, or container. (Remorque pour bois à pâte)

Rear extremity means the rearmost point on a vehicle that is above a horizontal plane located 560 mm above the ground and below a horizontal plane located 1,900 mm above the ground when the vehicle is configured as specified in S5.1 of this TSD section and when the vehicle's cargo doors, tailgate, or other permanent structures are positioned as they normally are when the vehicle is in motion. Nonstructural protrusions such as taillights, rubber bumpers, hinges, and latches are excluded from the determination of the rearmost point. (Extrémité arrière)

Rounded corner means a guard's outermost end that curves upward or forward toward the front of the vehicle, or both. (Coins arrondis)

Side extremity means the outermost point on a vehicle's side that is located above a horizontal plane 560 mm above the ground, below a horizontal plane located 190 cm above the ground, and between a transverse vertical plane tangent to the rear extremity of the vehicle and a transverse vertical plane located 305 mm forward of that plane when the vehicle is configured as specified in S5.1 of this TSD section. Non-structural protrusions such as taillights, hinges, rubber bumpers, and latches are excluded from the determination of the outermost point. (Extrémité latérale)

Wheels back vehicle means a trailer or semitrailer whose rearmost axle is permanently fixed and is located such that the rearmost surface of tires of the size recommended by the vehicle manufacturer for the vehicle on that axle is not more than 305 mm forward of the transverse vertical plane tangent to the rear extremity of the vehicle. (Véhicule à roues arrière reculées)

S5. Requirements

S5.1 Installation: Vehicle Configuration

Each vehicle shall be equipped with a rear impact guard certified as meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 223, Rear Impact Guards (Sec. 571.223) of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States. When the vehicle to which the guard is attached is resting on level ground, unloaded, with its full capacity of fuel, and with its tires inflated and air suspension, if so equipped, pressurized in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, the guard shall comply with the requirements of S5.1.1 through S5.1.3 of this TSD section. See Figure 1 of this TSD section.

S5.1.1 Guard width. The outermost surfaces of the horizontal member of the guard shall extend outboard to within 100 mm of the longitudinal vertical planes that are tangent to the side extremities of the vehicle, but shall not extend outboard of those planes. See Figure 1 of this TSD section.

S5.1.2 Guard height. The vertical distance between the bottom edge of the horizontal member of the guard and the ground shall not exceed 560 mm at any point across the full width of the member. Notwithstanding this requirement, guards with rounded corners may curve upward within 255 mm of the longitudinal vertical planes that are tangent to the side extremities of the vehicle. See Figure 1 of this TSD section.

S5.1.3 Guard rear surface. At any height 560 mm or more above the ground, the rearmost surface of the horizontal member of the guard shall be located as close as practical to a transverse vertical plane tangent to the rear extremity of the vehicle, but no more than 305 mm forward of that plane. Notwithstanding this requirement, the horizontal member may extend rearward of the plane, and guards with rounded corners may curve forward within 255 mm of the longitudinal vertical planes that are tangent to the side extremities of the vehicle.

S5.2 Installation Requirements

Guards shall be attached to the vehicle's chassis by the vehicle manufacturer in accordance with the installation instructions or procedures provided pursuant to S5.5 of Standard No. 223, Rear Impact Guards (Sec. 571.223) of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. The vehicle must be of a type identified in the installation instructions as appropriate for the guard.