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Cargo barriers

Unrestrained cargo in a vehicle can pose a serious safety risk to vehicle occupants, particularly in a sudden stop, impact crash or vehicle rollover.

You can reduce this risk by fitting a cargo barrier—a physical barrier that separates the passengers from the cargo.

Types of unrestrained cargo

Examples of unrestrained cargo include:

  • heavy cargo in a goods van
  • camping gear, car fridges or loose spare wheels in the rear of a 4WD
  • luggage, sporting equipment, office equipment, laptops or groceries in the rear of an SUV or a station wagon
  • tools, hardware or gas cylinders in a utility tray.

Fitting a cargo barrier

To protect vehicle occupants effectively, a cargo barrier should:

The safest position for the cargo is against the barrier or as close to it as possible. The further the cargo is from the barrier, the more impact energy the barrier must dissipate in a crash.

Fitting a cargo barrier doesn’t negate the need for good load restraint practices. For a cargo barrier to protect you effectively, you must restrain and load heavy objects against the barrier.

Cargo barriers and side curtain airbags

Cargo barriers don’t fit into some newer vehicles, as the barrier can interfere with side curtain airbags and sunroof. The most affected vehicles are 7-seat SUVs with side curtain airbags.

Cargo barrier manufacturers are working on these problems. In the meantime, an engineered solution won’t always be possible, and an approved cargo barrier may not be available for a vehicle.

QFleet has mandated cargo barriers for many vehicle variants, including station wagons, SUVs and vans. However, you should still check whether a cargo barrier is available before ordering a vehicle with QFleet.

Often, when a cargo barrier is fitted to an SUV or station wagon with side curtain airbags, the barrier has clearance gaps in the uppermost corners. These gaps provide room for the airbags to deploy. When loading this type of vehicle, take care not to place small items adjacent to the gap. The instruction plaque should provide more information about this.

Cargo barriers and passengers

Cargo barriers provide a physical barrier to separate passengers from cargo. For this reason, passengers should never sit behind a cargo barrier. Additionally, passengers must be able to enter and exit the vehicle safely, particularly in a rear-end crash.

You should also ensure that cargo in a utility tray can’t injure the vehicle’s occupants or other road users. To some extent, occupants are protected by the sheet metal that forms the rear panels of the utility’s cabin. However, the key areas of risk are:

  • impact damage to the tray headboard and rear of the cabin from unrestrained heavy objects in the tray
  • impact injury to the occupants from unrestrained objects smashing through the cabin’s rear window glass
  • danger to other road users from cargo falling from utility trays.

You can manage these risks by:

  • properly restraining loads in the utility tray to prevent movement
  • fitting the utility tray headboard with approved mesh infill panels to prevent unrestrained objects smashing through the cabin’s rear window glass.

Approved mesh infill panels are available as an optional accessory on most replacement tray bodies. QFleet also mandates the panels on drop-side trays.

More information

Last updated:
12 August 2022
Last reviewed:
12 August 2022
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