Toronto moving to install fatality-reducing side guards on heavy trucks [Video]

Toronto is looking to retrofit its heavy-duty vehicles with side guards in an effort to reduce pedestrian deaths.

The protective railings or bars can be mounted on the sides of large trucks between the axles to help prevent people from being pulled under the wheels in a collision.

Mayor Olivia Chow said having them on city vehicles “means saving lives. It means less tragedy. It means safety.”

According to city staff, side guards can reduce cyclist fatalities by approximately 62 per cent and pedestrian fatalities by 20 per cent.

Standing in front of a vehicle outfitted with side guards Wednesday, Chow recalled a promise she made to the husband and child of Jenna Morrison – a 38-year-old yoga instructor who was fatally struck by a transport truck while cycling back in 2011 – back when she was an MP.

“I promised her husband at the time that I would do …