David Bodamer, Executive Director, Content & User Engagement

June 23, 2014

2 Min Read
Florida Passes Bill to Protect Waste & Recycling Workers

On Friday, Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed into law House Bill 7005, an omnibus transportation bill that includes legislation aimed at preventing road accidents and fatalities involving waste and recycling workers and vehicles caused by careless drivers.

The bill includes a section that added sanitation and utility vehicles to the “Move Over Act.” Currently in Florida, when any vehicle approaches an emergency vehicle or tow truck, it must move over one lane. In instances where changing lanes is unsafe or the driver is traveling on a two-lane road, the driver must slow to a speed 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit, unless the posted limit is 20 miles per hour or less. In that case, the driver is required to slow to a speed of 5 miles per hour. This law adds sanitation and utility vehicles to those covered under the act.

“On behalf of the Florida Chapter of the National Waste & Recycling Association (NW&RA), I want to thank the Florida Legislature for adding sanitation vehicles to the Move Over Act,” Chuck Dees, Florida Chapter chair and vice president of public affairs for Waste Management of Florida said in a statement. “We especially want to recognize Rep. Holly Raschein (R- Key Largo), whose original language was incorporated into the final version of H.B. 7005. It was Rep. Raschein’s commitment to include sanitation and utility workers in the Move Over Act and the leadership of Rep. Daniel Davis (R-Jacksonville), chair of the House Transportation & Highway Safety Subcommittee, which allowed this legislation to pass this session.”

NW&RA has worked to pass similar “Slow Down to Get Around” legislation in other states. In addition to Florida, NW&RA chapters have successfully championed such legislation in Alabama, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Michigan has passed a similar law. “Slow Down to Get Around” is the industry’s safety campaign reminding motorists to drive more carefully when near waste and recycling collection vehicles.

About the Author(s)

David Bodamer

Executive Director, Content & User Engagement, Waste360

David Bodamer is Executive Director of Content & User Engagement for Waste360 and NREI. Bodamer joined Waste360 in January 2014. He has been with NREI since September 2011 and has been covering the commercial real estate sector since 1999 for Retail Traffic, Commercial Property News and Shopping Centers Today. He also previously worked for Civil Engineering magazine. His writings on real estate have also appeared in REP. and the Wall Street Journal’s online real estate news site. He has won multiple awards from the National Association of Real Estate Editors and is a past finalist for a Jesse H. Neal Award. 

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