WT Skips company director, Gary Thurtle, attended a health and safety conference organised by letsrecycle.com last week. One of the speakers was from the waste management firm Biffa and outlined the shocking abuse their refuse collectors often suffer from drivers. It can be an issue for us too, when we are working on roads, so we totally support Biffa’s ongoing campaign to stop drivers mounting pavements to get around waste collection vehicles.Â
DROPs Campaign
Biffa launched their DROPs (Driving Recklessly on Pavements) campaign in 2016 after figures were published revealing that waste collectors were witnessing around 30,000 dangerous driving incidents every month. Shockingly, 5 waste collectors die in work related incidents every year.
Campaign Tactics
Biffa are running an exemplary campaign. They have altered their work practices to increase worker safety. And they are liaising with media and police to shame and prosecute drivers who break the law and endanger pedestrians. Biffa have:
- introduced full Hi-Vis work uniforms. Â
- fitted 360-degree CCTV cameras to their waste collection vehicles.Â
- strengthened their driver training programme.
- examined their routes and collection timetables to see how best to avoid causing traffic delays.Â
- Begun reporting incidents to the police rather than putting up with violations as ‘part of the job’.
WT Skips
The health and safety of our staff is of utmost importance to us. We are fully aware of the dangers of working on the roads and many of the Biffa observations ring true to our own experience. At WT Skips, we ensure that all of our staff follow rigorous health and safety procedures and wear the appropriate hi-visibility clothing when working on roads. All of our drivers have a Certificate of Professional Competence.
A member of our team is always ready to answer your questions. You can give us a call on 01493 668118 or email info@wtskiphire.co.uk.
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Read more about the DROPs Campaign.