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Using Consumer Technology to Improve Driver Safety
Driving is a big part of what we do every day as we collect recycling and waste across the country and doing it safely is our number one priority. In 2019, we partnered with an automotive technology company to help us prevent accidents in the communities we serve by using the consumer navigation application Waze. Read on to learn more.Byline: BTB Editor
July 21, 2020 / Time to read: 5 minIf you could avoid a traffic jam or slow-moving vehicle while driving, would you? Most people would likely answer a resounding yes! Avoiding these obstacles helps your route become quicker and safer, with a huge emphasis on the latter.
We prioritize safety above all else. More than half of Republic’s 36,000 employees work in large vehicles on the road. Like other drivers, our truck drivers negotiate tight alleyways, parking and a variety of other roadway challenges. Unlike other drivers, they face these obstacles in a 25-ton truck. One of their biggest challenges is avoiding drivers who are distracted.
To help with this, we partnered with connected safety leaders HAAS Alert on a pilot program with Waze, a popular traffic tracking application, to place tracking beacons on our trucks. These beacons are used in a variety of situations and enable our trucks to communicate to other drivers through Waze that a slow-moving Republic vehicle is nearby. During last year’s pilot, over 130,000 notifications alerted drivers of a Republic truck location, which allowed them to reroute their course to avoid our trucks entirely.
“Safety is a collective effort and industry partnerships are vital. Partnerships like the one with HAAS Alert bring value and thought-provoking ideas and solutions as we focus on keeping people safe.” - Jim Olson, Senior Vice President of Safety, Republic Services
Technology like the HAAS Alert's tracking beacons in Waze helps drivers more safely maneuver to a path that is clear of slow-moving vehicles, removing them from a potential accident and helping to create safer roadways. Our industry requires a relentless focus on safety and Republic is committed to partnerships that drive innovative solutions to keep our employees safe.
Over the past 10 years, our safety performance (based on OSHA recordable incident rates) has been 39% better than the industry average. Keeping everyone safe helps us attract the best drivers, reduce costs related to incidents and improves our relationship with the many communities we serve.
To learn more about our safety initiatives and goals, please view our
