Memorial ride Friday for cyclist killed on Bayview

As many will already know, a(nother) cyclist was killed Friday, June 8th, on Bayview Avenue when he was hit by a truck. The official police report can be seen here.

A memorial ride will be held this Friday, June 15 at 6 pm departing from Bloor and Spadina. The ride will stop at York Mills Subway Station at 7 pm before heading to Bayview Avenue for the memorial, which is tentatively scheduled for 7:30. You are invited to bring flowers.

From Advocacy for Respect for Cyclists (ARC):

ARC would like to draw attention to the death of a cyclist…on Bayview Avenue: the sixth cyclist fatality in a row involving a truck and the seventh cyclist to die in the last 30 months in collision with a truck. He is also at least the 12th cyclist to die involving a truck since the Coroner’s Report on Cycling came out in 1998.

ARC has also sent out a letter asking those who witnessed the incident to contact Darren Stehr of ARC at 416-707-4744 or Detective Gill of Toronto Police Services at 416-808-1900.

The Coroner’s Report on Cycling recommends that Transport Canada investigate the feasibility of requiring “side guards” for large trucks, trailers and buses operated in urban areas to prevent pedestrians and cyclists being run over by the rear wheels in collisions with these large vehicles.

Olivia Chow has put forth a “Safety for Cyclists” motion. However, as I understand it, this will not be read in the House of Commons for some time. Chow also provides a petition that you can print off, have signed, and send to Ottawa, free of charge.

In response to Chow’s petition, the Minister of Transport tendered this reply dated May 31, 2006:

“The department of transportation has been working with both the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators and the Transportation Association of Canada to find the best means of reducing injuries to pedestrians and cyclists.

The Department does not, at this time, support the introduction of a regulation under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, harmonized with ECE regulation 73, that would require side guards on all new trucks and trailers sold in Canada. Installing side guards on new Canadian trucks and trailers would increase the mass of the vehicle resulting in increased fuel consumption and pollution and decreased competitiveness of Canadian trucking operations in comparison to US companies, which will not operate vehicles equipped with side guards.

The Department has no research data to suggest that side guards would be effective in Canada. In Toronto buses have been responsible for some of the pedestrian/cyclist fatalities, even though they have smooth sides and no significant opening around the wheels. Side guards are required in some European countries to reduce injuries to pedestrians and cyclists. By comparison, the operational conditions and user requirements for trucks are significantly different in Canada:

-European cities are located much closer together, have narrower roadways and significantly more interaction of trucks and pedestrians and cyclists.
-Most truck-trailer combinations and many trucks in operation in Canada are used exclusively on our intercity highways.
-Canadian trucks are designed for the national highway system and tend to be larger and longer than European trucks. Longer, larger vehicles present unique design challenges with respect to the safety of other road users.
-Winter conditions in Canada are much harsher than in Europe. This will create operational problems such as the build up of ice on the side guards, increasing the vehicle’s mass, resulting in increased fuel consumption and pollution and the potential for ice falling off the guards onto the roadway creating hazardous conditions for all road users.

In light of a 1998 Ontario Coroner’s Report on Cycling fatalities and Canada’s Road Safety Vision 2010, federal transportation officials raised the issue of truck-cyclist safety with the Standing Committee on Road Safety and Research Policies of the CCMTA. As a result of this and a number of other concerns related to vulnerable road users (VRUs), such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, a project group was created to examine the risk to these groups and recommend a mitigation strategy. Transport Canada is the chair of the VRU project group. The project group is currently looking at ways of improving road safety for all VRUs.

In addition, a study proposed by the Road Safety Standing Committee of TAC was approved to review the safe accommodation of VRUs and large commercial vehicles in urban areas. The project steering committee has been formed and a request for proposals ahs been developed. The first step will be to determine the magnitude and characteristics of the issue in selected major Canadian urban areas. Based on the findings of this project group, further work is expected to identify opportunities to mitigate the problem through improved engineering and planning of roadways.

Should the results of these studies prove that side guards on trucks would result in significant improvements to the safety of other road users, the department will not hesitate to propose such requirements.”

Some cycling advocates, including ARC, would like to see the City take a leadership roll on instituting mandatory side guards for trucks.

This Works Committee decision document from June 2006 shows that the issue was forwarded for a further report and a request. See the bottom of page 10 through to the top of 12 for the details.

A letter to the Works committee (of which the former chair was, Shelley Carroll), which is now replaced by the Public Works and Infrastructure committee (for which the current chair is, Glenn De Baeremaeker) might help to push this issue back onto Council’s agenda.

More information on side guards can be found in these documents:

Trailer Underride Protection — A Canadian Perspective.
From Monash University Accident Research Centre in Australia (warning large PDF – see pg 46 and Exec. Summary.)

A collaborative effort from Europe: Cost-benefit analysis of measures for vulnerable road users.

And, from the U.S.: Improved Crashworthy Designs for Truck Underride Guards.

Special thanks to Martin Koob (of biketoronto.ca), Ryan Merkley (in Shelley Carroll’s office) and Nathan Rotman (in Olivia Chow’s office) for assistance in locating documents.

Photo courtesy of Momentum Magazine

Crossposted to I Bike TO