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UK News - Breaking news in the field of health and safety
Waste and recycling vehicles in street collection - guidance
Over a period of around 9 months, 6 persons have lost their lives in accidents involving reversing waste/ recycling collection vehicles. This frequency of events means the development and promulgation of good practice information in the activity is clearly a priority. Such work was undertaken by The Northamptonshire Local Authority Safety Advisors Group and the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum (WISH) who have devised systems to reduce the risk of collection vehicles running over workers and members of the public. It can be accessed in the HSE published guidance, Waste and recycling vehicles in street collection.
Reversing has caused a disproportionately large number of moving vehicle incidents, in most instances adopting safe systems and using aids for reversing, including trained assistants to ensure that pedestrians do not enter the reversing zone, will prevent these tragedies.
Comment:
"This partnership between local authorities, the waste and recycling industry and the HSE has produced a set of clear standards that will control those risks. We want to encourage these partnerships, using the skills and experience of key workers at grass roots level to develop solutions that will work for them. The challenge now is for the industry to implement the controls and ensure that tragic incidents are prevented in the future." - HSC Chairman.
"There is a tragic history of pedestrians, and particularly children and old people being run over by refuse collection vehicles. We welcome the systems of work set out in this guidance as they can greatly reduce the risk of pedestrians entering the reversing area whilst the vehicle is moving." - Chief Constable for South Yorkshire Police and Head of Association of Chief Police Officers Road Policing Policy.
06.09.06
