Lawyer, advocate debate merits of safety side guards on Halifax trucks

A Halifax council committee heard differing perspectives Thursday on its plan to install side guards on heavy trucks in a bid to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Paul Vienneau, a Halifax resident, warned councillors not to back off the plan, recounting in graphic detail the collision with an 18-wheeler that cost him the use of his legs 27 years ago. 

Vienneau was riding his bike in Toronto in 1991 when he was hit by an 18-wheeler making a right-hand turn.

"If [side guards] had been in Toronto at that point, I would have been popped out on the sidewalk under the Gardiner Expressway. I probably would have had a little bit of road rash, and my brother wouldn't have had to watch his brother crushed under the truck," said Vienneau at the city's transportation standing committee meeting. 

He now uses a wheelchair and has become an accessibility advocate.

Vienneau spoke to the committee after it heard from lawyer Bruce Clarke, who urged the committee to consider exemptions to the plan.

Clarke represents some independent truck owners and said the group is dedicated to safety, but said there are problems with side guards. He said the side guards would get in the way of carrying out repairs and doing pre-trip inspections.

"They should be installed where they're practical. My clients don't disagree with that at all," he said.

Rule being phased in

Two years ago, city council passed a resolution requiring the guards on municipal trucks and on those owned by contractors doing city work.

The rule applies to trucks weighing more than 4,500 kilograms. It started being phased in last year.

Side guards help prevent people from being sucked underneath a truck after a collision.

The U.K. experience

Clarke argued that for some vehicles, like dump trucks, side guards won't improve safety. He said they already have tanks on the side which effectively do the same thing. And he said the guards would hinder drivers' pre-trip safety inspections. 

"There are many vehicles for which it will be practical; there are some for which it will not be." 

He also cited some findings from a National Research Council Canada report that noted while there's side guard legislation in many countries, some heavy vehicles are exempted because of their specific operational requirements.

"For example, it is estimated that in [the] U.K. approximately 20 per cent of the heavy vehicles are exempted," said the report. "Such a situation will likely occur in other jurisdictions, based on the fleet characteristics."

Side guards save lives

Vienneau told the committee that any delays in installing the side guards could come at a price. He said he had to undergo 40 surgeries and spent a full year in acute care as a result of the collision.

"The load of things I've had to endure to get here is crazy. I spent my first year in a bed," said Vienneau. "The technology exists that could have avoided all of this."

Bruce Zvaniga, HRM's director of transportation and public works, said the comments would feed into an update report due in the summer. He said he will continue to meet with stakeholders and industry members before writing the report.