In the European Union, side guards had been required on all trucks since 1989.

I don’t remember to ever seen this. The European trucks seem to be smaller, and maybe the space is used more efficiently… ?

EDIT: i saw the images posted in the comments… yeah i’ve seen them, but they do not look like a fence, just something occupying the space, i always assumed it was something that was necessary for the normal operation of the truck.

EDIT 2: The next time i left home, i saw one… I guess i never paid attention. So forget my comment