pbrown@mollp.com
- Lifetime licence bans are needed to fight drinking and driving - January 6, 2021
- Tinted windows in automobiles: are they permitted in Ontario? - August 7, 2020
- Recent cycling deaths point to a need to make roads safer - July 27, 2020
Scrapping a potentially life-saving study for cyclists was a shortsighted move by the federal government, says Toronto critical injury lawyer Patrick Brown.
“I am absolutely amazed that they would not complete it,” says Brown. “Sticking their heads in the sand does not make the issue disappear.”
The report had government engineers examining whether side skirts, attached to trucks to reduce fuel costs, could also prevent cyclists from getting crushed under the big rigs, the Globe and Mail reports.
With funding secured and researchers in place, the study was about to shift into its second phase when Transport Canada suddenly halted further testing last fall, contending it had found no research to show truck skirts could make streets safer, the article says.
Promising findings
But a copy of the study’s first phase, obtained by the Globe through access-to-information legislation, reveals the National Research Council (NRC) reported promising findings from its initial analysis of side skirts.
“I am sad to say that I represented the family of Ryan Carriere, who was killed in Toronto a number of years ago on Queen Street. A side skirt would have prevented his death,” says Brown, partner with McLeish Orlando LLP.
“When the truck turned in front of him, he struck the side of the truck. He was then pulled underneath. In his testimony, the truck driver recalled seeing Ryan in the side mirror of the truck. He was upright. Despite braking, the truck kept going forward.”
With first-hand knowledge of the impact side skirts could have, Brown says there’s no doubt the study should have moved ahead.
“Transport Canada sets vehicle standards for all new vehicles which are manufactured in or imported into Canada. The responsibility for mandating truck or bus safety equipment, including retrofitting, falls under its jurisdiction,” says Brown.
“Over 14 years ago, Coroner William Lucas in his 1998 Report on Cycling Deaths asked that this issue be investigated due to a rash of cycling deaths. In 2012, the same request was made by Deputy Coroner Dr. Dan Cass.
“The requests were made in order to prevent and save lives. They were made after a detailed review was conducted of cycling and pedestrian deaths. Meanwhile, studies have shown that side skirts reduce deaths. This issue has been brought before the legislature on a number of occasions. There have been private members bills and petitions calling for this change.”
