According to the Road Safety Thailand Road Safety Policy Foundation (RSPF), rear-end collisions caused by smaller vehicles are the most common type of truck accident, resulting in injuries and deaths. One way to reduce the severity of the problem is to install the Rear Underrun Protection Device (RUPD) that complies with UN R58 (The Economic Commission for Europe of the UN/ECE in its Regulation: No.58 Rear underrun protection device standard). The research team developed the RUPD design process using a Morphological matrix to integrate the device’s sub-functions and ensure interchangeability. They then evaluated the strength of the design using computational analysis and approved it with UN R58 testing.

The RUPD design must comply with the following the Department of Land Transport (DLT) requirements:

• Be consistent with UN R58 strength standards.
• Use locally available materials.
• Be suitable for small to large manufacturers.
• Have a lower total cost than imported RUPDs.