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The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Silver Spring, Maryland, announced it is collaborating with Marietta, Georgia-based BrandArmor to include new safety decals on the back of waste and recycling collection trucks. BrandArmor has created large SafetyFirst Prismatic Reflective caution decals, which include the familiar warning to “Slow Down to Get Around.” The reflective decals will be visible up to 1,800 feet at night and can help warn other drivers to reduce their speed when approaching these vehicles. 

“I am very excited about these new stickers, which are much larger and more visible than most of the ones currently in use,” SWANA Executive Director and CEO David Biderman says. “Motorists continue to drive into the back of industry trucks or strike collection workers with disturbing frequency. These stickers can be placed on a wide variety of front-end loaders and automated side loaders and can also be customized for rear-end loaders. The added visibility will make it virtually impossible for a motorist to legitimately claim he or she did not see the truck in the event of a collision. I urge fleet operators to purchase these new safety stickers.”

Slow Down to Get Around (SDTGA) is a national safety campaign that reminds motorists to drive more carefully when near waste and recycling collection vehicles. Being struck by a motorist is a leading cause of death for waste and recycling collection employees, and with proper awareness, can be preventable. 

SDTGA is also the name commonly applied to legislation that requires motorists to slow down or move over when passing waste and recycling vehicles that are in the process of collection. Twenty-two states have enacted some type of SDTGA law to help protect solid waste workers out on the route, and several others are considering similar bills.

With all the fatalities that have occurred in the past few years, SWANA has been emphasizing industry safety at the chapter and national levels in both the United States and Canada. SWANA hopes these decals will help reduce the number of incidents in which motorists collide with industry vehicles or employees. 

“BrandArmor is so proud be teaming up with SWANA to expand the SDTGA safety program from education to real-world implementation to save lives,” BrandArmor Senior Vice President Jonathan Baltic says.

The stickers, which all carry a 5-year replacement warranty, are tied to the VIN number of the truck. The warranty will make it possible to track vehicles that get the decals and compare accident rates with vehicles that do not have the decals, the organization says. SWANA members will be able to purchase the decals at a discounted price online.