A new campaign launched by the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, Ontario's cycling and advocacy organization, is aiming to educate cyclists on the dangers of pulling up alongside a tractor-trailer's right side — a particularly dangerous move when the truck is making a right turn.
The message of the campaign is simple: Stay Safe, Stay Back.
Billboards, print ads, public service announcements, a dedicated website, as well as decals for trucks will be rolled out in the coming weeks, targeting both cyclists and truckers.
"We need to address the gaps in education," said Eleanor McMahon, CEO of Share the Road Cycling Coalition, Ontario's cycling advocacy and policy organization at a press conference this morning. "No one wants collisions, no one wants accidents."
Earlier this year, the Ontario Coroner's Office released a review of 129 cycling deaths between 2006 and 2010, of which 18 involved tractor-trailers, and half of those were preventable, said Dr. Dan Cass, deputy chief coroner. Fourteen recommendations came out of the review, with education being one of them.
"These people aren't daredevils, they just don't know," said Daniel Egan, manager of Toronto's Pedestrian, Cycling and Infrastructure department of Transportation Services.
Jeff Nealy, Terminal Operations Manager at Linamar Transportation out of Guelph, ON., was on-hand for the announcement. "I know it sounds weird," he explained to media, "but one of the most difficult manoeuvres can be the right turn."
Nealy said he recently took up cycling, and understands the dangers of navigating Toronto streets after he went for a ride with his son on Spadina Ave. — one of the busiest streets in Toronto.
He also hears frequently from drivers about cyclists pulling up on the right side.
But this isn't about blame, said Brian Gahan, executive VP and chief creative officer at Top Drawer Creative, the advertising firm tasked with developing the campaign. "How can we do this without pointing fingers, without lecturing?"
Gahan, an avid cyclist, said he spent a day in City of Toronto driver Wes Pennell's truck to film the PSA. "Spending a day in his truck with cameras, seeing what he sees — I have a new respect for what they do."
All City of Toronto trailers, as well as trailers from other Ontario municipalities, will be sticking the decals on their equipment, visible so that cyclists will be reminded about the right-side blind spot. Linamar will also be adding the decals to their equipment.
Cass also touched on the issue of mandatory side-guards as a means to prevent cyclist from being trapped underneath trailers — one of the recommendations out of the review. "It makes intuitive sense," he told Today's Trucking, but whether the regulators decide to mandate them remains to be seen.
Still, though, it's only one of a handful of solutions to what seems to be a growing issue as more people take to cycling. Mandatory helmets are on the docket for Ontario cyclists, as well as a push for more clarity and consistency in the Highway Traffic Act and Municipal By-laws on the rules for cyclists and other road users.
