Campaign highlights dangers of driving on pavements

1 February 2017

Biffa launched its Driving Recklessly on Pavements (DROPs) campaign on the back of figures which show that waste collection operatives report 3,000 incidents of motorists driving recklessly on pavements each month.

To support the campaign, Biffa has published CCTV footage which makes for ‘shocking viewing’ and shows numerous incidents of careless drivers mounting pavements and driving into or nearly missing refuse collection workers.

Biffa handles 10% of household waste collections in the UK and says its collection teams are reporting around 3,000 incidents of reckless driving per month. The waste company is working with Staffordshire Police to develop a new prosecution system, including fitting its trucks with 360 degree cameras, which Biffa says has led to a marked improvement in the number of reported incidents. In addition to collaborating with the police, Biffa has introduced clearer hi-vis clothing and is working on resident awareness campaigns.

Lawrence Emerson, Biffa’s head of health and safety, said, “The issue is far, far greater than the industry, or the public, could ever possibly imagine. I joined Biffa in 2015 from an aviation background, so I am used to high risk workplaces. When I went out with our crews on their collections, my jaw was on the floor – I could not believe what I was seeing and the danger the crews were facing every day due to reckless drivers."