By Kate Jacobson
The State News
Published: June 3, 2009
A new Michigan law is forcing motorists to change the way they treat garbage trucks and service vehicles.
Michigan’s Slow Down to Get Around legislation passed in January and will allow law enforcement to bring felony charges against motorists who injure or kill anyone working on or around garbage trucks and roadside vehicles.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm will hold a ceremonial signing for the bill today at the Capitol in Lansing.
“It is an all too frequent occurrence where we have vehicles that are struck by careless drivers,” said Tom Horton, Midwest vice president of public affairs for Waste Management. “Too often we have individuals that are injured or killed because people are not paying attention.”
The legislation was made by a Mid-Michigan coalition of communities, local governments and organizations, including MSU, that have been working together since 2006.
One of the original businesses involved was Granger Container Services based in Lansing. Granger’s chief financial officer Steve Reed said employees at the company noticed there were no laws enacted to help protect on-road service providers.
“We thought that if we could expand the same laws for the police officers to others that work on the side of the road … that people would take more caution,” Reed said.
Since 2007, Granger has promoted the Slow Down to Get Around campaign, posting it on billboards in the Lansing area and sending out flyers to Granger customers.
“It wasn’t a law at that time but at least it did give people the awareness,” Reed said. “We have, as a company, seen a decrease in close calls and that’s without getting the law in place.”
East Lansing was one of the first cities in Mid-Michigan to support the safety campaign, said Angela Mabin, a public service administrator in the city’s Department of Public Works. In 2006, the City Council adopted a resolution to address safety issues regarding garbage trucks and roadside service vehicles.
“We tried initially at the grassroots level,” Mabin said. “We tried to get municipalities and townships to adopt this.”
Mabin was one of the original advocates for the legislation. She said she hopes the new legislation will make residents more conscious of all city vehicles.
“It will hopefully provide a safer work environment for our employees when they are working out in the roadway because now, by law, drivers are required to slow down as they pass and approach,” she said.
Published on Wednesday, June 3, 2009
