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Truckers Face New Requirements For San Francisco's Vision Zero Traffic-Safety Initiative

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— Many professional truck drivers who travel in San Francisco will soon be required to take a safety training program as part of the city's Vision Zero action strategy to meet the goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities by 2024.

The video-based curriculum for truck drivers is in development and within two months, businesses that contract with the city will be mandated to have their truck drivers take an online safety course.
"We're requiring all our truck drivers, be they city employees or in the private sector go through this training," said Mayor Ed Lee.

FedEx and UPS have voluntarily agreed to have their drivers take part in the training as well. Supervisor Jane Kim represents the Tenderloin and South of Market areas where many pedestrians and cyclists have been killed by large vehicles.

"I can't tell you how many funerals that I've gone to of residents that we've lost in our district," Kim said.

President of the California Trucking Association, Richard Coyle, is hopeful the training can be replicated in other urban areas, noting San Francisco offers unique challenges.

"Some of the hills here are really steep. It has tourists in vast numbers and it has all kinds of pedestrians and cyclists in numbers that we don't see in any other urban environment," Coyle said.

San Francisco reported no fatalities from traffic accidents in the city last month. Supporters of Vision Zero hope that record can be extended indefinitely.

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