National Waste & Recycling Association Supports West Virginia Driver Safety Bill

The National Waste & Recycling Association (Waste & Recycling) is supporting proposed legislation in West Virginia that require all drivers in the state to slow down to 15 miles per hour when passing a stopped waste and/or recycling truck.

State Senate Bill 378, or the “Slow Down to Get Around Bill,” is intended to prevent road accidents and fatalities caused by careless drivers, the Washington-based association said in a news release. The bill was introduced by Sen. Donald Cookman.

Sen. Cookman sought the reforms after a driver struck and killed Jeremy Tabler, a sanitation worker from Berkeley County, who was exiting his waste truck to collect garbage.

“We want to prevent such tragedies from happening. It’s critically important, for everyone’s safety, to slow down to get around garbage trucks,” said David Biderman, Waste & Recycling’s vice president for advocacy.

“We applaud Sen. Cookman for proposing enhanced safety for motorists and for waste and recycling industry employees. Trash collection is a tough job with many challenges, and we want to honor the memory of Jeremy Tabler and be sure other workers return home safely to their families every night.”

Tabler was survived by a wife and two young daughters.

Similar laws have passed in Alabama, Michigan and Wisconsin. Waste & Recycling has championed safety for years with its “Slow Down to Get Around” national campaign, which reminds motorists to drive more carefully near solid waste collection vehicles.