Tuesday, February 10, 2015

BRAVO! NEW YORK CITY TRUCKS TO GET SAFETY SIDE GUARDS. A FIRST STEP TO START SAVING PEOPLES’ LIVES FROM UNDERRIDING RISKS







BRAVO! NEW YORK CITY TRUCKS TO GET SAFETY SIDE GUARDS.  A FIRST STEP TO START SAVING PEOPLES’ LIVES FROM UNDERRIDING RISKS

February 9, 2015


NEW YORK, NY:

A number of city trucks will get safety guards to keep bicyclists and pedestrians from getting caught under their wheels, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday.

As part of his Vision Zero street safety program, 240 city trucks -- salt spreaders, container trucks and dump trucks -- will be fitted with side guards between the rear and front wheels. 

The test run for the equipment could be expanded to 4,734 trucks in the city's fleet of 27,000 vehicles, according to the mayor's office.

"Installing side guards on our city trucks will help prevent fatal collisions," de Blasio said.

Truck drivers last year were involved in 23 crashes.

And this year, according to the New York Police Department, one pedestrian and one bicyclist died in crashes with trucks.

The first round of installation will cover 18 trucks from the Parks Department, Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Citywide Administrative Services by the end of February, according to the mayor's office.

City trucks in Boston and Portland, Maine, feature these side guards, which will cost New York about $3,000 each to purchase and install on both sides of a truck, totaling $750,000 for the first set, according to the mayor's office.

"We look forward to seeing this first wave demonstrate the life-saving potential of truck guards so we can see them expanded to even more vehicles in the city's fleet and beyond," said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives