Trucks
Streetsblog Basics
The Plan to Cut Truck Traffic By Changing How Trash Haulers Do Business
In the past five years, at least six New Yorkers have been killed, and many others injured, by truck drivers working for private trash haulers. Labor and environmental advocates have a plan they say will reduce these deaths by cutting down on inefficiencies in private trucking routes. They are meeting resistance from the waste hauling industry, which says safety can be improved without changing the current system of contracting.
June 8, 2015
Trucking Industry Imposes Up to $128 Billion in Costs on Society Each Year
Cross-posted from City Observatory
June 2, 2015
City Council Poised to Require Side Guards on 10,000 Trucks by 2024
The City Council transportation committee unanimously passed a bill this afternoon that would require side guards, which keep pedestrians and cyclists from being swept beneath a truck's rear wheels, on approximately 10,000 New York City trucks by 2024. The legislation, likely to pass the full council tomorrow, mandates the add-ons not just for city-owned trucks but also for private trash haulers.
May 26, 2015
No Easy Answers at City Council Hearing on Trucks and Bike/Ped Safety
Trucks pose an outsize danger on New York City streets. This afternoon, elected officials, agency staff, union representatives, and advocates tackled the issue at a City Council transportation committee hearing.
March 3, 2015
Report: All New NYC Garbage Trucks Should Have Life-Saving Side Guards
Earlier this month, the city announced a pilot program to add side guards, which prevent people from being dragged under the rear wheels of large vehicles, to 240 trucks in the city fleet. It's a start, but there are thousands more trucks on NYC streets that need this life-saving equipment.
February 26, 2015
Margaret Chin: Toll Reform Will Protect New Yorkers From Truck Traffic
City Council Member Margaret Chin today introduced legislation to require the city to examine the effects of New York City's dysfunctional bridge toll system on traffic safety. The bill would also mandate regular DOT safety audits for all city truck routes.
February 12, 2015
Rodriguez Revives Push for Truck Guards After First Cyclist Death of 2015
A private garbage truck operator killed a cyclist, and a driver killed a pedestrian in separate incidents in Queens over the holiday weekend. NYPD and District Attorney Richard Brown filed no charges in either case.
January 20, 2015
Life-Saving Truck Design Fix Sidelined By Federal Inaction
This is the second post in a series about safety features for large vehicles. Part one examined the case for truck side guards and New York City's attempt to require them for its fleet.
December 22, 2014
The Simple Change to Truck Design That Can Save Lives
When someone is struck by a turning truck driver in New York City, the worst injuries are typically caused when the vehicle's back wheels run over the victim. Amar Diarrassouba, Ngozi Agbim, Noshat Nahian, Jessica Dworkin, and Renee Thompson were among the New Yorkers run over by the rear wheels of large trucks in recent years.
December 18, 2014
Two Pedestrians Killed in 24 Hours, Including Seventh MTA Victim of 2014
Update: The victim in the MTA crash was identified as Edgar Torres. WNYC reports that, according to a witness, Torres was in a crosswalk and crossing with the signal when he was hit.
October 30, 2014