Boston City Council in the US has voted unanimously to introduce truck side guards on council-owned and contracted vehicles to reduce the risk of a collision with pedestrians or cyclists.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh said that as the number of cyclists on the streets of Boston has increased, so too has the number of crashes between cyclists and vehicles.
“Truck side guards are a low-cost feature that can be installed on trucks and that have the potential to save a life,” he said.
The council conducted a trial prior to passing the ordinance where 16 vehicles were installed with side guards, convex mirrors, cross-over mirrors and blind spot awareness decals at an average cost of $1500 per vehicle.
Following the successful trial, Mayor Walsh filed the ordinance in conjunction with At-Large Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley and the Boston Cyclists Union in September.
The ordinance applies to vehicles that weigh over 10,000 pounds, or tractor-trailers that weight over 26,000 pounds.
Currently there are 250 trucks providing contracted services to the City.
However, the ordinance only applies to future contracts. Exceptions to the ordinance also include trucks used exclusively for snow ploughing or emergency vehicles.
Mandated side guards on large trucks reduced deaths by 61 per cent and serious injuries by 13 per cent for cyclists in the UK, according to a Transport for London study.
According to Kris Carter, Director of Programs in Mayor Walsh’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the cost to the council will be minimal as the ordinance requires contractors to include the devices on their private vehicles.
“The City expects that some of the cost may be passed on to the City, but considering that many of the construction projects are in the millions of dollars, it is a small percentage of the total cost,” said Carter.
“Overall feedback has been positive so far, truck drivers and companies put safety very high on their list of priorities and they recognize that this will be an improved safety element that will hopefully reduce crashes.”
The ordinance comes into effect 180 days after passage.