Couple make appeal for truck mirrors.

Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 4/19/05): An article on Page D3 in Thursday's Register-Guard incorrectly described the safety equipment the United Parcel Service has installed on its delivery trucks. They have been equipped with cameras mounted at the rear of the vehicles.

SALEM - A Eugene couple urged lawmakers Wednesday to require forward-view mirrors on package-delivery trucks, saying such safety equipment would have prevented the death of their 6-year-old daughter.

Christopher and Brandi Lyons asked Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, to introduce Senate Bill 1027, which was heard by the Senate Transportation Committee. Their daughter, Kennedy Marie Lyons, was run over and killed while she was on a sidewalk near her home in 2001.

A United Parcel Service delivery truck was being driven forward from a private driveway when it hit the child. A Eugene police detective who investigated the crash concluded that the driver was unable to see the girl because she was in a blind spot in front of the vehicle.

The Lyons' bill would require the installation of "forward-facing vision devices," such as convex mirrors or cameras on package delivery trucks to allow drivers to see people or items in their blind spots.

"There's no reason why this happened and there's no reason another family should have to go through what we've been through," Brandi Lyons tearfully told lawmakers while testifying. "I'm sorry. I don't think a package is worth another person's life."

Walker said several companies, including UPS, continue to refuse to use forward-facing mirrors, despite a request in the Lyons family's lawsuit against the company that it be required to mount such safety devices on its fleet.

Lawrence Wobbrock, a lawyer for the Lyons family, said the bill was not being sought to strengthen their lawsuit against UPS, since it was settled out of court before Walker was approached and asked to introduce a bill.

He said in researching the lawsuit, his firm discovered that many trucks and buses are equipped with such mirrors, which can be purchased for $40 or $45 apiece.

Those who use the mirrors include school districts, the U.S. Postal Service, the shuttle buses at Portland International Airport and Crystal Springs Water Co.

No one testified against the bill, although Wobbrock said it was possible delivery companies may decide to try to defeat the bill on the grounds that it would be too expensive. Passage of SB 1027 would create "a level playing field" since all such companies would be forced to add the safety equipment, he said. "It makes them all be careful," he said.

Jeff Grant, a UPS spokesman, said he could not comment on SB 1027 because he wasn't familiar with it. He said no legislative action would be taken by UPS until the company had analyzed the bill. He said his company has equipped rear-mounted mirrors on its entire fleet after concluding that would provide the biggest benefit.