NSWMA Announces 2009 Driver Training in Phoenix and Las Vegas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2009
Contact: David Biderman, 202-364-3743

(Washington, DC) – The National Solid Wastes Management Association (NSWMA) will hold a driver training program in February 2009 in Phoenix and Las Vegas. NSWMA is offering free 2-hour training sessions for refuse truck drivers.The training includes classroom, computer-based and simulator components, and focuses on space management, backing and other common driver issues. NSWMA will train 48 drivers during a 3-day period at two Republic Services facilities.

In these sessions, NSWMA will partner with MPRI, a global leader in vehicle and maritime simulator products, services and turnkey training facilities, to deliver state-of-the-art training to drivers at these sessions using simulator-based technology. Simulators are a valuable training tool, providing drivers the opportunity to practice complex driving scenarios in a risk-free environment.

Each training session will feature standard classroom and computer-based training as well as hands-on driving time on MPRI’s TranSim VS IV simulator. Because there are different types of waste collection vehicles, MPRI designed the simulator’s software to support a variety of equipment including residential and automatic tippers and commercial collection haulers.

David Biderman, NSWMA’s safety director, stated, “NSWMA’s simulator-based driver training program in March 2008 was very well-received and attended. We look forward to providing additional training to public and private sector drivers in the Southwest next month, and appreciate Republic hosting these important training events.”

NSWMA also manages a national safety awareness program called “Slow Down To Get Around” to generate public awareness of the need to slow down and give waste collection workers the space they need to do their jobs safely. Safety efforts by the industry in recent years have helped substantially decrease the fatality rate for garbage collectors.

The registration form may be found at www.nswma.org.

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NSWMA – a sub-association of the Environmental Industry Associations – represents for-profit companies in North America that provide solid, hazardous and medical waste collection, recycling and disposal services, and companies that provide professional and consulting services to the waste services industry. NSWMA members conduct business in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.nswma.org.