When Paul Harvey鈥檚 colleagues climb into their rigs each morning and head off to work, they鈥檙e literally putting their life on the line. They鈥檙e not cops, or firefighters or electrical power line installers or bomb disposal experts: they鈥檙e garbage truck workers. 鈥淚t is crazy out there,鈥� said Harvey, the safety co-ordinator for Emterra, the contracting company that handles curbside pickup of garbage and recycling across Niagara for the Region. 鈥淧eople are just not paying attention,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible.鈥�
Every day, Emterra鈥檚 110 staff jump on and off or in and out of the company鈥檚 fleet of 65 to 70 trucks up to 1,200 times, with cars and trucks whizzing around them. Each day, those trucks can log up to 13,000 kilometres on average.
Harvey joined Regional Chair Alan Caslin, Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) acting chief executive officer Peter Hargreave, Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris and Walker Industries executive vice-president Mike Watt in issuing a call at the Walker yard on the Thorold-Niagara Falls border on Friday for the province to adopt Harris鈥� private member鈥檚 bill to make it mandatory for drivers to slow down and move over for garbage trucks and snowplows and sanding trucks in Ontario.
Similar legislation already exists requiring drivers to move safely over when emergency vehicles are on the side of the road, and that same protection was recently extended to tow truck drivers. Hargreave said after two years of lobbying the province has yet to extend that protection to garbage truck and snow plow workers. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 wrong,鈥� he said. 鈥淲aste collection workers have one of the most dangerous jobs in this country. The risk is real.鈥�
Harris, who planned to reintroduce his private member鈥檚 bill at Queen鈥檚 Park after it died on the table when Premier Kathleen Wynne prorogued the legislature in September, said the lives of garbage truck and plow workers are worth no less than emergency officials or tow truck drivers.
鈥淭hey need to go home each and every night to their loved ones,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of close calls. 鈥淚t should be common sense to slow down and move over (but) unfortunately it isn鈥檛.鈥�
Watt said there are too many close calls happening in Niagara involving distracted and speeding drivers putting garbage truck and plow drivers in harm鈥檚 way.鈥淲e feel for the guys out on the street,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly important.鈥�
Harris鈥� bill would impose a penalty of three demerit points and a $400 fine for drivers who refuse to put a safe distance between themselves and garbage truck or plows.
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