Cyclist dies after being hit by truck in Rosemont
Vélo Québec renews call to improve safety of riders at intersections
A cyclist has died after being struck by a heavy truck in the borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie.
Police said the accident occurred around 9:25 a.m. Friday when a truck travelling east on Bélanger St. turned right to head south on 6th Ave. and struck the cyclist, who was travelling parallel to the truck on Bélanger St., at the intersection.
The cyclist was a 41-year-old woman and was declared dead at the scene.
The driver of the truck, a 49-year-old man, was sent to a hospital to be treated for nervous shock. Other witnesses were also being treated for shock.
Friday’s fatal accident refocuses attention on the issue of vulnerability of cyclists and pedestrians at intersections, and whether they can safely share those intersections with heavy trucks where the drivers’ blind spots are increased by the sheer size of the vehicle.
Magali Bebronne of Vélo Québec said her organization has already provided the city of Montreal with recommendations to improve safety at intersections.
“One of them was to look at what London has been doing in terms of trucks allowed in their city … and what they’ve done is develop a rating for the amount of direct vision available for drivers in those trucks.
“And trucks with the worst ratings have been banned . ... That’s something we’ve called upon the city of Montreal to do.”
Bebronne also noted that one way to reduce collisions similar to the one that occurred Friday is to give cyclists at intersections “a head start” by creating boxed-off areas for bikes at the front of traffic and synchronizing lights to allow them to leave first, followed by motor traffic.
“We know a lot of these accidents occur when the truck wants to turn while the cyclist wants to go straight,” she said.
The intersection where Friday’s accident occurred is equipped with traffic lights. But Bebronne wondered whether the problem goes beyond simple traffic lights and rethinking the lines at intersections.
“How is it that we allow huge trucks with no (direct) vision to drive in places where there are tons of cyclists and pedestrians around them? We need to be brave enough to look at that and say we do not want these kinds of trucks on our streets.”