Don’t Get Complacent on the Job

Garbage Truck Driver Safety

Many managers and supervisors say that one of their biggest safety challenges is preventing experienced drivers and other front-line workers who get complacent after years on the route or at a landfill from having accidents or getting hurt. After driving the same route or assembling truck bodies for five or 10 years without an accident, it may be human nature to be a little less attentive
to potential hazards.

This would be a mistake.

Many accidents that occur in solid waste collection involve older drivers or helpers who have been with their companies for a long time. Some workers get into a “comfort zone” and think they are invincible because they haven’t had any incidents. This creates a false sense that “it isn’t going to happen to me.”
For hundreds of collection crews each year, this is shattered by being involved in a serious or even fatal accident.

Treat every day like it’s your first day on the job. Don’t rush. Keep your eyes and ears open at all times. Follow the safety rules. Expect the unexpected. Bring your “A game” to your job, and you are much more likely to go home to your family, healthy, every day.

Blog post courtesy of NSWMA