Patent ID: 8602466

Claim:
A vehicle comprising: a body including at least one side panel; a pair of front steerable wheels spaced in a transverse direction of the body of the vehicle; at least one pair of rear wheels which are transversely spaced relative to the body and longitudinally spaced from the front steerable wheels; a door provided along the at least one side panel; and a safety guard assembly for deflecting animate objects from in front of one of the front and rear wheels, said safety guard assembly including: a frontal guard piece; a first mounting component secured to the body in front of the one of the front and rear wheels; a second mounting component supporting the frontal guard piece; and a connection assembly interconnecting the second mounting component to the first mounting component and securing the frontal guard piece in front of the one of the front and rear wheels such that the frontal guard piece is positioned to deflect animate objects from being run-over and crushed by the at least one of the front and rear wheels, said connection assembly being configured to accommodate transverse movement of the second mounting component relative to the first mounting component thereby permitting the frontal guard piece to shift transverse to the body upon the frontal guard piece engaging a fixed, inanimate object.