Dive Brief:
- Data from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation shows that waste transport trucks fail safety inspections at a higher rate than average, as reported by CBC News.
- In 2015, 30.5% of the 1,182 waste transport trucks inspected were taken out of service for safety issues as compared to the overall average of 22.7%. In 2013 and 2014 the number for waste transport trucks was approximately 32%.
- Bad brakes and damaged wheel assemblies were among some of the most common issues. Driving conditions at landfills may also be part of the issue as mud, waste and uneven terrain can cause numerous mechanical problems.
Dive Insight:
Many haulers are known to inspect and repair their trucks on a regular basis, but even one accident can be fatal. These trucks make hundreds of trips per week to transport many tons of waste to landfills along busy highways. A woman was killed while driving in Ontario last year after two wheels came off a waste truck and hit her car.
Safety also continues to be a major focus for waste companies and the overall trucking industry in the U.S. The American Trucking Association estimates that the overall industry spends at least $9.5 billion per year on safety, not including routine maintenance, and the rate of fatal crashes involving large trucks has decreased. Training drivers to perform thorough pre-trip inspections and be vigilant on the road is an ongoing priority.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is also working on a demonstration program to develop a formal system to assess crash preventability data. This could help further reduce the rate of crashes and potentially provide more data on incidents in cities such as New York where vehicle safety has become part of a larger effort to reform collection systems.
