Stop Drop And Roll ... How about Slow Down To Get Around?

Stop, Drop and Roll. The fire department adopted that simple slogan more than 20 years ago. And even today people remember to stop drop and roll if they catch on fire. Stop, Drop and Roll taught us that slogans raise awareness. After three accidents involving Rumpke drivers, I decided to create an awareness slogan of my own, Slow Down To Get Around.

In the final days of 2003 and the earliest days of 2004, one Rumpke driver was seriously injured, one driver was killed and another was nearly wounded when drivers hit their residential garbage trucks. Immediately, following each of the accidents, the media questioned Rumpke. They wanted to know what Rumpke was going to do to stop these accidents. I already knew that Rumpke was meeting or exceeding all Occupational Health and Safety Standards. I knew that our employees were wearing the best safety equipment available and that our trucks possessed extra reflective strips and lighting.

It was during these moments that I couldn't help again recalling a conversation that I had with Rumpke's fatally injured driver, Steven Finch's wife. Tamara Finch had told me that her nine year-old son, Charles kept asking her a similar question, "Mommy what can we do so that no other little boy loses their Daddy like this?"

To me there was only one thing left to do, raise public awareness. We needed to find a way to encourage the motoring public to slow down and use caution when driving around service vehicles on the road. Slow Down To Get Around was the answer.

When many of us see a service vehicle on the road we become irritated. Naturally, our patience is tested. It's a little different when we see a school bus because we know children are at risk, plus there are stricter penalties associated with failure to comply school bus traffic laws, consequently we slow down. Unfortunately, there are no laws designed to protect service workers who work in roadways. Therefore, it is up to the motoring public to exercise caution when navigating around service vehicles. The Slow Down To Get Around campaign is designed to remind the motoring public to do just that.

The national campaign includes 30-second and 15-second, television and radio commercials featuring a driver who is involved in accident in which she injures a waste collection driver. The commercials may begin airing early this summer.

The universal commercials are designed to accommodate any waste hauler or service organization employing workers who perform duties on roadways. Therefore, other waste haulers and industry organizations such as the National Solid Wastes Management Association of North America, and public safety groups such as the Hamilton and Butler County Sheriff's Office and the Colerain Township Fire and Police  Departments have already become involved with the campaign. Local, state and federal politicians including US Representatives Steve Chabot and John Boehmer, Ohio Representatives James Raussen and Patricia Clancy, the Hamilton County Commissioners and local communities such as Cincinnati, West Chester and Colerain Township and Hamilton County also have agreed to endorse the program.

Rumpke continues to cooperate with other waste haulers, municipalities and organizations to distribute "Slow Down To Get Around" media kits with a customized commercial that can be edited to include each waste hauler or organization's logo. Participating sponsors will purchase advertising schedules throughout their service regions.

The campaign's major sponsor is McNeilus, a division of Oshkosh Corporation. McNeilus manufactures waste collection vehicles. The corporation kicked off a national "Slow Down To Get Around" campaign May 18 at the National Solid Wastes Management Association's Waste Expo in Dallas. The Expo attracted approximately 5,000 industry professionals. McNeilus promoted the campaign via public relations efforts and paid advertisements during the Expo and continues to promote it today.

Daily more community leaders, other waste haulers and even other service companies are slowing down to notice the impact of the Slow Down To Get Around campaign. You are going to see the Slow Down To Get Around logo on safety uniforms and on service trucks. You will hear the message on the radio and see a grim reminder on television. We hope that Slow Down To Get Around will be another Stop Drop and Roll.

So what are we all going to do to prevent accidents like this one from occurring in the future? I think Slow Down To Get Around is our answer.