Heavy truck fleet to be equipped with protective guards

Saint-Laurent, a Montreal borough, has become the first in the city to start modifying its fleet of heavy vehicles to help prevent the possibility of pedestrians and cyclists from accidentally falling underneath.

The fleet will be equipped with lateral protection devices, a decision that follows the death of Jessica Holman-Price in 2005, who died after an accident involving a snow removal truck in Westmount.

The steel or aluminum side guards cover the space between the vehicle’s axles where tanks and other equipment are located. Of the 33 vehicles in the Saint-Laurent fleet that could be so-equipped, side guards have been installed on 12 vehicles, several of which are used for snow-removal operations.

Between now and 2015, all borough vehicles will be outfitted with side guards or storage containers, which cover the open space between wheels on certain models of trucks. In addition, the borough will include lateral-protection specifications in its purchase orders for heavy vehicles.

“We would now like to encourage other governments and transportation organizations to assess the impact that heavy vehicles have on road safety and amend their regulations,” Alan DeSousa, the mayor of Saint-Laurent and vice president of the City of Montreal’s executive committee, announced at a news conference.

The city and the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec are currently taking part in a working group created in response to a coroner’s recommendation, said Richard Deschamps, vice president of Montréal’s executive committee. “The borough’s initiative, coupled with the eventual findings of the working group, will allow the city, in the very near future, to adopt a common and concerted position on how to improve the safety of pedestrians and other users of the road network with regard to heavy vehicles.”