Originally Posted by
mr_bill
Have you never wondered why there isn't abject carnage around tractor trailers driving through cities?
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In the Vancouver video, the operator had flat mirrors, convex mirrors, and CONVEX FENDER MIRRORS.
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The reason the person on the bike wasn't seen is because the OPERATOR DID NOT LOOK.
-mr. bill
I'd say 4,000 to 4,500 fatalities per year is a serious number of commercial vehicle involved deaths - maybe not carnage, but not insignificant either. Commercial vehicles make up less that 4% of vehicles on the road but are involved 13.5% of fatal collisions on the roads. (I understand they also log significantly more miles per vehicle and I didn't look up those stats - fatal collisions per mile are likely equal or slanted the other way)
Convex mirrors are not required in the US, it appears NY requires them (good thing with NYC). But that puts the responsibility in the hands of an operator or business to add and maintain convex mirrors on their rigs. Based on my experience as a commercial driver (and via my brother-in-law that currently drives semi), these safety features are not a priority - keeping costs down and getting it done quickly, those are the priorities. (yes, fatal collisions are high cost, but the big companies typically fire and blame the driver for not following safety protocols).
Lastly, we totally agree the driver of this truck failed to check his mirrors properly prior to making that right turn.