Refuse collection, vehicle speed
SINCE the Nasinu Town Council is in a dysfunctional mode, I believe the Suva City Council has taken over the garbage collection within the Nasinu municipality and doing fabulous work in the timely collection of household refuse before the dogs invade the neighbourhood.
However, the concern is the speed of the trucks when travelling from the depot to the site or to the rubbish dump.
I believe that apart from the traffic laws, there are no standard operating procedures adherence and the operation is done without any written guidelines.
Last week, I was doing 60km/hr in Nasinu when a rubbish truck overtook me with such great speed which almost made my vehicle look stationary.
This vehicle was not on a collection route but was merely passing through the area.
I believe the said truck was doing more than 80km/hr in a restricted zone despite having 60km/hr printed at the rear of the vehicle.
The most dangerous occurrence at that time was the two crew members standing at the rear clinging on to the support bar. They were swayed from side to side and looked very uncomfortable and were under due stress that was caused by the driver’s behaviour and the chances of a fall from the vehicle was very likely.
Our safety laws clearly state it is the responsibility of the employer to provide and maintain a system of work that is safe and without risk to the health and safety of the workers.
It is an opportune time for the council concerned to develop standard operating procedures (SOP) for mobile refuse collection and compaction equipment and include guidelines such as riding only in the vehicle cab or on steps specifically designed for riding, remaining inside the vehicle cab until the vehicle is completely stopped, ensuring workers are not using riding steps when the vehicle is backing up, exceeding 10 miles per hour or travelling more than 2 miles continuous, no illegal riding on the loading sills or in hoppers and other important tasks.
Such standards will ensure the safety of the workers and the organisation has a duty of care under the law to see to the welfare and protection of the staff members, which is paramount.
It would also be interesting to know the number of injuries recorded for such work.
SATISH NAKCHED
Suva