The Ontario Trucking Association takes road safety very seriously and is constantly reviewing the important relationship between large vehicles, motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians.
Road safety is a shared responsibility and OTA is proud to work with likeminded safety stakeholders and government partners as part of an evergreen process to make our roads safer for all road-users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
While OTA has no objection to municipal requirement to install sideguards – officially known as lateral protection devices – on government vehicles, the association maintains that any potential policy to mandate sideguards on all private vehicles would not accomplish the desired safety outcomes some political leaders imagine.
Transport Canada, which has completed a number of studies on this issue in Canada, concludes there is no clear evidence side guards or side skirts would prevent or reduce injuries or fatalities.
“Work done by the Government of Canada in 2018, in cooperation with all provincial and territorial governments and stakeholders from the trucking industry, cyclist and pedestrian groups and law enforcement entitled Safety Measures for Cyclists and Pedestrians Around Heavy Vehicles explores dozens and dozens of achievable mitigation strategies that have proven to be effective that can be explored and adopted. The strategies identified are still valid and OTA would welcome further discussions on the countermeasures with officials from the City of Toronto to ensure road safety continues to improve”, said Geoff Wood, Sr. VP, Policy, Ontario Trucking Association.
Extensive studies in the UK and the EU show conflicting data on the effectiveness and rate of injury prevention from sideguards.
OTA welcomes a comprehensive review of emerging data and new evidence into this area.
In the meantime, OTA believes better longer-term solutions are found in increasing awareness and education for all parties on how to safely share the road, along with improved infrastructure planning and exploring how advanced driver assistance systems can improve safety.