A cluster of victims, families and bicycle‑safety advocates urged the Joint Committee on the Judiciary to advance S.10‑36, legislation intended to reduce collisions between large motor vehicles and vulnerable road users.

Speakers included family members of people killed in collisions with box trucks and tractor‑trailers, representatives of MassBike, and community activists. They described fatal collisions known as right‑hooks and underride incidents in which bicycle riders or pedestrians were struck or crushed by rear wheels because a truck body blinded drivers to people in adjacent lanes.

Key safety measures discussed included requiring:
- Side guards and ladder‑type underride protection on trucks and trailers to prevent pedestrian or cyclist entrapment beneath wheels;
- Convex mirrors and expanded direct‑vision mirror requirements and camera systems to improve drivers’ sightlines; and
- Liability rules that create accountability where carriers or drivers fail to equip vehicles with readily available safety technology.

Family members gave emotional testimony. Mary Beth Ellis described her daughter Sydney’s death after a semi with its front bumper extended into a crosswalk struck and killed the child; she urged the committee to require basic safety devices and stronger liability to produce behavior change. Alexa Gomberg recounted the fatal right‑hook death of a close friend and pressed for ladder‑protection devices.

Advocates said the measures are already in use in some municipalities and other countries and that legislative action would accelerate adoption across the Commonwealth. They framed the proposal as a practical public‑safety step: many devices are commercially available and would reduce the most deadly collision types.

No vote was taken during the hearing. Advocates asked the committee to report S.10‑36 favorably and flagged coordination needs with transportation committees and rule‑making agencies to ensure standards and enforcement are effective.

Speakers: MassBike, family members of victims, graduate‑student advocates and walking/cycling safety groups.