Mayor Bill de Blasio announced this week that the city will begin retrofitting trucks with side guards in 2015 as part of its Vision Zero program. Side guards are rails between the front and rear wheels of a truck that can protect pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists from being caught under the vehicle in case of a collision with the side of a truck. In the city, trucks are only 3.6 percent of vehicles on the road, but collisions with trucks account for 12.3 percent of pedestrian fatalities and 32 percent of bicyclist fatalities.
“We are serious about Vision Zero, and that means looking at our vehicles and our drivers to make sure they’re as safe as they can be. New York City operates the largest municipal fleet in the U.S. with over 27,000 vehicles. When we change the way we do business like this, it changes our streets for the better,” said Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Stacey Cumberbatch.
In May, DCAS partnered with the Volpe Center at the Department of Transportation to conduct a review of the effectiveness and specifications for truck guards, including reviewing international standards for side guard usage and exemptions.
Volpe worked with the City’s inter-agency fleet team to review each department’s specific equipment. The final report identified 4,734 trucks appropriate for side guards and proposed specifications for their installation. The City will install side guards on approximately 240 of the eligible fleet, exempting trucks under 10,000 pounds, street sweepers, fire engines, and car carriers. The first round of installation began with 18 medium-sized trucks from Parks, DCAS, and DEP. If successful, the guards could be expanded to all appropriate vehicles within the City’s fleet. Each guard costs approximately $3,000 to purchase and install.
By Forum Staff
