I live in a little town called Burntwood. Our local council is Lichfield, so every week the local refuse lorries appear to collect the rubbish. There’s usually two – one for all the recycling stuff and one for the garden or household stuff depending which week it is. Either way, there’s usually one lorry that’s been driven as hard and as quickly as possible.
Last year one fell over. We half expected it as sometimes you’ll see them braking hard and then speeding off for no real reason. One of the guys in the lorry that day was left severely disabled by the accident. Richard Taylor was crushed by Malcolm Cope, a Team Leader. Today, in national press including the BBC and Sky News, it emerges that Malcolm had told the driver to do a “shift load manoeuvre”. This involves the lorry being driven quickly before braking hard as a way to push the contents forward. This, of course, while Malcolm obviously wasn’t buckled up (clever lad eh?). Unfortunately the lorry appears to have hit a kerb or something and flipped on its side. Richard Taylor was trapped inside and was awarded almost 4 because he now needs full time care from two carers.
The driver and Team Leader were both sacked.
But do they drive any better now ?
Do they chuff.