Emily Hardy from Brigade Electronics, a supplier of vehicle safety devices for the waste and refuse industry, explores how the latest technology is helping to maintain safety in growing communities across the UK.
Operating a waste and refuse truck isn’t easy. Navigating narrow streets, manoeuvring around parked vehicles and constantly being aware of pedestrians and cyclists nearby are just some of the challenges drivers encounter every day.
The waste and refuse industry is one of the most dangerous occupations in the UK. Aside from the potential for incidents while out on the road, workers themselves also face risks. In fact, according to the most recent statistics published by HSE (Health & Safety Executive), being struck by a moving vehicle accounted for 37% of injuries to waste and refuse workers in 2022.
Reliable, regular and safe waste management is an important part of a community’s infrastructure. However, as the number of residential streets grows, maintaining safety is becoming more and more difficult for operators of waste and refuse services.
In 2022, the Office for National Statistics reported that more than 204,000 new residential properties were completed in the UK. This is forecast to rise by another 200,000 homes per year over the next five years.
This rapid increase in residential dwellings means there is even more potential for waste and refuse trucks to encounter pedestrians, including children playing or elderly people crossing the street, as well as domestic animals.
The Department for Transport reported that between 2020 and 2021, pedestrian fatalities rose by 4% and that the highest proportion of fatal casualties occur in one-vehicle collisions involving an HGV. The most common contributory factors assigned to pedestrian deaths were “pedestrian failed to look properly” and “driver failed to look properly”.
The hazards of operating waste and refuse trucks in built-up areas are manifold. People, pets, cyclists, parked cars and cars pulling in and out of driveways, as well as narrow streets, all contribute to the difficulties drivers face. Factor in a large, heavy vehicle with complex blind spots and limited direct vision from the cab and the potential for collisions is greatly increased.
The hazards of operating waste and refuse trucks in built-up areas are manifold.
Supporting drivers with operating their vehicles is essential to maintaining the highest standards of safety while travelling on the road and moving around refuse sites. As well as regular training for drivers, commercial vehicle safety devices have proved to be crucial for supporting drivers with manoeuvring their vehicles safely and preventing deaths and injuries.
These include camera monitor systems, such as Brigade’s best-selling Backeye®360, which provides a real-time 360-degree surround view of a vehicle in a single image.
This system provides the driver with instant visibility of the numerous blind spots found on large waste vehicles, allowing operators to quickly see and react to hazards on the ground. This is especially useful in built-up areas where drivers are regularly required to perform low-speed manoeuvres in challenging situations, including in darkness or difficult weather conditions.
Successfully navigating routes, including contending with heavy traffic, road works, closures and incidents can also be a huge obstacle for waste and refuse truck drivers. On any given day, journeys can be affected by complications that cause delays, fatigue and frustration for drivers.
Remote fleet management is making a huge difference in mitigating the effects of problems that drivers encounter en route. Utilising a digital video recorder with 4G connectivity, like Brigade’s MDR with BRIDGE, allows fleet managers to live track vehicles, providing numerous benefits for operators.
This includes location tracking so that managers can find their fleet at anytime and anywhere, geo-fencing capabilities so managers can identify when vehicles are entering or leaving specific areas, and trigger warnings that instantly notify fleet managers of incidents. For drivers, they can also send an instant notification in the event of an emergency. All these features greatly improve safety and security both on and off the road.
Additionally, when vehicles are involved in an incident, the lack of solid evidence can lead to uncertainty and time-consuming investigations. Research into the benefits of recording camera footage from vehicles has found it encourages driver best practices and acts as an accurate eyewitness providing irrefutable evidence in the event of a collision or dispute.
As the urban landscape changes and workloads increase for waste and refuse drivers, maintaining safety will continue to be a top priority for operators. Utilising the latest in safety technology is a crucial step towards preventing deaths and injuries caused by collisions in growing communities.
