Controlling Traffic Hazards at a Landfill

There are several ways to control traffic hazards in the landfill. However, it needs the support of top management to ensure that everything is properly designed in the site and the rules are being enforced.

Among these is to improve the current design of the landfill, have one-way traffic only, and designate areas for pedestrians.

The Dangers in the Landfill

Among the most dangerous places is the landfill. You will see many personal vehicles, compactors, dump trucks, bulldozers, and trucks throughout the day. These vehicles are delivering, moving, dumping, compacting, and covering trash. Visitors and workers are at risk of being crushed or struck by such vehicles especially the heavy equipment. The grounds in the landfill are shifting and unstable so the equipment operators can meet accidents like roll-overs. The mounds of debris and trash can easily obscure or limit visibility of smaller vehicles and pedestrians. It is therefore very important to control traffic hazards at a landfill.

So, how can you control traffic hazards? You can start with a good quality traffic design. Cross traffic is usually the reason for accidents but this can be avoided if there is only one way flow of traffic. You should also eliminate intersections and blind corners. The roads should be designed to suit heavy equipments and there shouldn’t be potholes, rutted roads, steep grades, and tight corners. There should also be signs that limit speed at 15 mile per hour and make sure that it is enforced at all times. When dumping, vehicles should have at least enough space in between to prevent collisions.

The Pedestrians

Aside from the vehicles, attention should also be given to pedestrians in the landfill. Pedestrians should be limited inside the landfill. It would be best to designate an area for pedestrians that are away from the site of heavy equipments. There should be at least several people who will assist pedestrians inside the landfill to ensure that there are no kids wondering about restricted areas. Some workers will usually be on foot so you need to enhance visibility. The clothing should include safety vests and should have reflective coloring. The site design should always consider the safety and visibility of workers on foot. Hand signals can be used for communication or when possible, verbal. Vehicles often have blind posts, making it hard to drivers to see certain areas. It would be good to put video cameras at the sides, rear, or front.

Foot workers should be well trained. They should never assume that the drivers of all vehicles can see them. Accidents can happen any time so they should maintain an adequate distance from the vehicles. These are the various ways to control traffic hazards at a landfill. This will involve the efforts of those in authority. If high management is able to give particular attention to these matters, traffic hazards can be greatly reduced.

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