e-4944 (Transportation)

Road safety in Canada is a shared responsibility among all levels of government, industry partners, and all road users. Under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Transport Canada regulates the safety performance of new and imported motor vehicles and vehicle equipment, including child restraint systems and tires. In this context, all new vehicles imported to Canada or manufactured in one province/territory and sold in another must be certified to comply with all applicable safety regulations and safety standards. Transport Canada also conducts oversight of vehicle manufacturers and importers, including targeted audit testing of vehicles to ensure compliance with Canadian safety standards. It should be noted that the vehicle safety standards developed and enforced by Transport Canada are performance-based rather than design based. They set out a mandatory threshold level of safety requirements for all vehicles.  

In keeping with roles and responsibilities, while vehicle safety standards are a federal responsibility, the size and shape of vehicles permitted on the roads falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction. The Highway Traffic Act of each province/territory sets out legal responsibilities for motor vehicle owners and drivers.  

Nevertheless, Transport Canada is committed to working with all levels of government to strengthen the safety of all road users in Canada, including vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. The department works with the provincial and territorial governments through the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators, and with industry and safety partners, on several road safety initiatives, such as the adoption of collision-avoidance technologies, regulations to improve motor carrier safety, and measures to prevent driver fatigue, impairment, and distraction.   

Transport Canada continues to study ways to reduce the risks to vulnerable road users associated with large commercial vehicles in urban environments and has been investigating root causes and potential solutions to reduce and potentially eliminate the risks to vulnerable road users posed by these vehicles.  

For example, together with provinces and territories, Transport Canada led the development of a report entitled Safety Measures for Cyclists and Pedestrians around Heavy Vehicles – Summary Report, which was approved and published by the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway safety in 2018. Resulting from extensive consultation with the road safety community, the report was intended to create a springboard for action to support all jurisdictions as they address road user safety challenges within their communities. The report describes a series of 57?safety measures to better protect vulnerable road users through:    

• automated enforcement technologies, such as speed and red-light cameras;  

• roadway and cycling infrastructure, such as segregated cycling tracks; and 

• visibility and awareness measures, such as warnings in heavy trucks to detect nearby pedestrians.  

Transport Canada has also commissioned several studies on this issue and has performed over 80 in-depth collision investigations involving vulnerable road users and heavy vehicles to identify the contributing factors in collisions between heavy trucks and vulnerable road users. In addition, the department conducts research and evaluates the latest technologies on vehicles from the perspectives of both human performance and engineering. The research has focused on issues such as distraction and how drivers use new technology and is currently testing the safety of advanced driver assistance systems and automatic emergency braking technology, automated shuttles, and systems for warning truck drivers when there is a cyclist or pedestrian in their blind spot. Transport Canada publishes a selection of its Research and Guidelines through its website. The results of Transport Canada’s ongoing research and analysis will continue to inform and guide the development of motor vehicle safety standards and regulations. 

Transport Canada is engaged in the development of global international requirements to improve direct and indirect detection of vulnerable road users. This work is being carried out under the United Nations World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). Transport Canada is also keeping up to date with international regulations and trends. More specifically, Transport Canada is closely following the development of the Global Technical Regulation “GTR 9 – Pedestrian Safety” which served as the basis for the newly proposed regulatory change in the United States (U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, fall 2024). The goal of GTR 9 and the U.S. NHTSA notice is to reduce the levels of injury sustained by pedestrians involved in frontal impacts with motor vehicles. Transport Canada is assessing the U.S. NHTSA notice and will continue to monitor these developments through close collaboration with the U.S. NHTSA as well as similar in other countries. These steps will help inform the appropriate path forward for Canada which could potentially include adaptation of GTR 9 (or the U.S. rules) in Canadian regulation.