Related: NYC Adding Truck Side Guards to Protect Pedestrians, Cyclists
NYC Mayor Mandates Sideguards for Refuse Trucks
New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed a bill that requires side guards on 10,000 city and private refuse trucks by 2024 to reduce deaths and serious injuries during collisions with passengers.

Screenshot via NYC Mayor's Office/YouTube.

Screenshot via NYC Mayor's Office/YouTube.
New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed a bill that requires side guards on 10,000 city and private refuse trucks by 2024 to reduce deaths and serious injuries during collisions with passengers.
The bill, which was signed June 16, covers trucks that weigh more than 10,000 lbs., including Class 3 and higher. Among the 10,000 trucks, 4,500 operate in the city fleet, including 2,700 Department of Sanitation vehicles, and 5,500 to 6,000 private trash haulers regulated by the Business Integrity Commission, reports StreetsBlog NYC.
The timeline for the legislation allows the Department of Sanitation to phase in the side guards on new trucks rather than replacing existing vehicles. The National Waste and Recycling Association supported the bill.
The city began adding the side guards in February to 240 of its medium-duty trucks in an initiative that was part of the city's Vision Zero plan. The guards cost about $3,000 each to purchase and install.
The city moved forward with the installation of the side guards after cyclist Hoyt Jacobs — a 36-year-old poet and Queens College adjunct professor — was struck and killed in Long Island City by a sanitation truck Jan. 17.
More Safety & Compliance

Fatal Crash Exposes Toll Plaza Risks
An NTSB investigation found that last-minute lane changes and large speed differences at an Ohio toll plaza created a hazard the truck driver couldn't avoid in time.
Read More →
When Language Stops the Truck: The Return of ELP Out-of-Service Orders
English language proficiency rules for commercial drivers aren’t new, but renewed out-of-service enforcement has raised the stakes. Here’s what carriers need to know before a driver reaches a roadside inspection.
Read More →
A Camera Isn't a Safety Program. Here's What Brokers Are Screening for Now
Footage alone may not be enough to pass broker vetting processes. Here's what counts as a defensible safety program now.
Read More →
Marijuana and Trucking’s Drug-Testing Dilemma
Marijuana is getting stronger, laws are changing, and drug tests still can’t reliably establish impairment. What does that mean for truck drivers and the fleets that employ them?
Read More →
PrePass, Kodiak Connect Driverless Trucks to Roadside Enforcement
The system will allow enforcement agencies to verify Enhanced Inspection information and decide whether Kodiak’s autonomous trucks can bypass roadside screening sites.
Read More →
From One Generation to the Next: How Mentorship Builds Safer Truck Drivers
After three decades in trucking, Harold Perry shares what he's learned about driver safety, mentorship, and helping the next generation build confidence behind the wheel.
Read More →
FMCSA Pauses Biennial-Update Enforcement Amid Motus Transition
Carriers whose updates were due on or after June 1 have more time, while FMCSA works to stabilize its new registration system and warns of phishing sites impersonating its new carrier registration system, Motus.
Read More →
ZF Expands Commercial Vehicle Push in North America
ZF is expanding its North American commercial-vehicle presence with new transmission applications, electrification, trailer technology and autonomous-driving systems.
Read More →
Truck Drivers Need More Than Another Alert
Fleets have more visibility into truck health, safety events, and driver activity than ever. The next challenge is turning all that information into useful guidance for the person who has to decide what to do next.
Read More →
Tesla Wants a Self-Driving Semi. Are Cameras Enough?
Could Tesla’s camera-only autonomous driving technology work on an 80,000-pound Semi? In this commentary, HDT's Deborah Lockridge takes a look at Tesla, Cybercab, and how autonomous trucks see the road.
Read More →

