Chow to Introduce Bill Aimed at Curbing Cyclist Deaths

By putting side guards on trucks, cyclists such as Jenna Morrison could have been alive today.

What costs $800 and has helped lower the number of cyclist deaths in the U.K. by 61 per cent? According to The Globe and Mail, the answer is side guards that can be attached to the flanks of trucks to prevent cyclists from getting crushed or dragged to their deaths. And today, Toronto NDP MP Olivia Chow will introduce a private member's bill – for the third time – that would require transport trucks to use the guards, as has been done in the U.K and throughout Europe. One British study found that 10 years after the guards had been mandated, the number of cyclists killed each year had plummeted by 61 per cent, while serious injuries had fallen 13 per cent. It's believed that they could have saved the life of Jenna Morrison, a pregnant mother of one who was struck and killed by a truck in Toronto's west end last week. Her death has resonated among the city's cycling population, and dozens of riders are expected to gather today and bike to the location of her death to pay their respects to her. Between 2004 and 2006, such incidents caused 77 deaths and 1,410 injuries across Canada, but the trucking industry is a little hesitant to add the guards due to the cost of retrofitting their fleets. Chow's bill would make doing so mandatory.