On Friday, MassDOT will host a public hearing on new rules that will require side-guards, improved mirrors, and backup cameras on trucks that do business with the state government.
The rules would take effect on January 1, 2025, in accordance with the 2022 Act to Reduce Traffic Fatalities.
That law requires "a motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer or semi-trailer unit classified as a class 3 or above ... that is leased or purchased by the commonwealth on or after January 1, 2025, or operated under a contract with the commonwealth on or after January 1, 2025, shall be equipped with a lateral protective device, convex mirrors, crossover mirrors and backup cameras."
The cities of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Newton, which combined host 14 percent of the Commonwealth's residents, have already adopted similar requirements for municipal agencies and contractors under local ordinances.
According to the USDOT, large trucks comprise only 4 percent of registered vehicles, but they cause a disproportionate amount of traffic violence.
Trucks were involved in approximately 8 percent of fatal pedestrian crashes and 11 percent of bicyclist killings in 2019.
Federal safety researchers recommended rules to require side-guards on all new trucks, nationwide, in 2017.
But, as detailed in a 2023 report from ProPublica and Frontline, intense lobbying from the American Trucking Association, which includes major companies like Amazon, UPS, and FedEx, successfully pressured Trump administration officials to muzzle those recommendations.
Public hearing information:
When: Friday, July 12, 10 a.m.
Where:
- Remotely at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86258327009
- In person at: 10 Park Plaza, MassDOT Board Room, 2nd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (take the Green Line to Boylston or the Orange Line to Chinatown).
MassDOT will also accept written comments until 5 p.m. on Friday July 12. Send written comments must be by email or postal mail to the following addresses:
- Email: Eileen.Fenton@dot.state.ma.us
- Postal Mail: Eileen Fenton, Managing Counsel, MassDOT, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 3510, Boston, Massachusetts 02116
