Contour markings become law in Europe

Werlte, Germany: Krone is supplying its trailers with retro-reflective marking as a standard fitment to meet European Directive 2007/35/EC for contour markings.

Contour markings counter the risk danger of accident in poor lighting, at night and in poor weather when vehicles cannot easily be seen.

From July reflective contour markings on new HGVs is mandatory and provided as a standard fitting by Krone

From 10 July 2011, under European Directive 2007/35/EC, and under regulation ECE104 it is mandatory to apply approved reflective contour marking to all registrations of commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes, more than 6-metres long and over 2.1-metres wide.

Krone has been offering its customers the option of fitting trailers with contour markings for many years. “This is because the safety of all road users has always been very important for Krone. Krone is not only a pioneer with load securing systems, but also equips its trailers as standard with the roll stability support system,” the company says.

The contour marking consists of 50mm wide reflective strips, which must be approved in accordance with ECE-R 104. These strips must be affixed as a technical lighting facility in accordance with ECE-R 48, and will therefore be subject to the general (MOT) and roadside inspections.

The conspicuous contour marking must always consist of rear and side marking whereby at the rear the marking must be attached as a full contour marking in either yellow or red and at the side at least as partial contour marking in yellow or white – full contour marking at the side is an option. However, even without the regulatory requirement, many fleet managers realise that reflective markings on vehicles help to prevent accidents and present a more professional image to customers.