Please drive carefully around bin lorries

The Council is taking to the streets to appeal to motorists to drive carefully around bin lorries.

A new refuse collection vehicle is carrying the road safety message to try to reduce incidents of thoughtless driving, or even road rage, that Eastleigh’s refuse collectors witness as part of their day-today work.

Examples include: drivers mounting kerbs to go round bin lorries; threats and verbal abuse to collectors and drivers repeatedly sounding their horns; motorists driving close to waste collectors at high speed – and even bins being clipped by cars and vans while being wheeled by collectors.

Drivers are being asked to remember a few key facts: waste collection vehicles do make room for cars to pass

wherever possible; bin rounds are designed to be carried out quickly and efficiently, which means that pulling to one side of the road isn’t always an option; major commuting routes are cleared before they get busy; waste collections follow a set weekly pattern which allows local drivers to plan their journeys, and mounting the pavement isn’t just illegal, it is also very dangerous and puts pedestrians at risk - especially at rush hour.

It is worth bearing in mind that the Council’s newer bin lorries carry 360-degree CCTV - and footage could be used as evidence in a prosecution for a motoring or other offence.