Victoria bike crash sparks renewed calls for safety bars on trucks
Global News
Cyclist advocacy groups in Victoria are renewing their calls for safety bars on trucks following two frightening collisions involving cyclists.
Another frightening collision involving a cyclist and a truck in Victoria, has advocates again calling for side bars on large trucks.
In video captured on Tuesday morning, a cyclist can be seen heading through an intersection near the Johnson Street Bridge, before being struck by a truck turning right on a red light.
This incident comes less than a week after 28-year-old Agustín Beltrán was killed in a collision with a dump truck at the intersection of Hornby Street and Pacific Boulevard in Vancouver.
In both cases, cycling advocates argue that both cyclists had the right of way and side bars on large trucks would have prevented the incidents, and the ‘simple’ safety measure would help prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“It really shows the highlight of where the limitations are, you can build a fantastically safe street and reduce crashes, just like Vancouver did, it’s a very very similar kind of intersection,” said Capital Bike spokesperson Corey Burger.
“It shows Transport Canada needs to step up and mandate truck side guards so that when mistakes happen like this one, someone doesn’t end up like in Vancouver unfortunately losing their life,” he added.
The Victoria Police Department told Global News it can’t comment on who had the right of way in the situation because the file is still under investigation.
But, a sign can be seen at the intersection prohibiting right turns on red lights — except for bikes.