Cambridge Committee Scrutinizes Truck Safety Rules After Two Summer Cyclist Deaths

CAMBRIDGE -- September 9, 2024, Cambridge committee holds truck safety hearing after two cyclists killed this summer. The Neighborhood and Long-Term Planning, Public Facilities, Arts, and Celebrations Committee convened September 9 for a public hearing on large-vehicle safety, prompted by the deaths of cyclists Kim Staley and Min Tee Wen in separate Cambridge crashes weeks earlier. Transportation Commissioner Brooke McKenna told councillors that every one of Cambridge's seven fatal bicycle crashes in the past decade involved a truck. Federal researcher Alex Epstein of the U.S. DOT Volpe Center and MassDOT's Chris Carter presented a first-of-its-kind state and municipal direct-vision study covering 60 vehicles across 10 municipalities, finding that 90 percent of heavy-duty fleet vehicles cannot see a child in a bike lane and that visibility has been "getting worse model year to model year" since 2015. Public Works Commissioner Kathy Watkins reported the city now has roughly 50 large vehicles equipped with side guards, costing $2,000 to $3,500 each against truck purchase costs up to $700,000, and that the city's 2020 truck safety ordinance covers vendors and contractors but exempts snow equipment. MassDOT regulations under the state's 2023 Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities are expected to move in October, which would shift safety inspections to the state level and broaden compliance significantly.