Dangerous driving putting our crews and others at risk

A Bristol Waste crew member standing in front of a Bristol Waste recycling truck

New film highlights dangerous driving putting our crews at risk

Earlier this year we launched a new efficient, sustainable, safer and more reliable recycling fleet. The upgrades included the installation of 360-degree cameras to aid the safety of our crews and the public.

The footage from the cameras has highlighted the numerous incidents of dangerous driving by impatient drivers our crews and pedestrians encounter regularly.

We were deeply concerned by what we saw and wanted to share this film with you to illustrate the dangers of drivers mounting pavements and speeding as they impatiently try to get past recycling crews at work.

We are now in talks with Avon & Somerset Police about using the footage to aid successful prosecutions for dangerous driving. It is hoped that the collaboration will help hold dangerous drivers to account.

Operations Director at Bristol Waste said:

“It is a serious concern for our crews and members of the public. What was most shocking about the footage was seeing that our crews didn’t even react. This happens so often they just accept it as part of their job.

“While our work ensures materials get a second life, our crews only have one. Please be patient – dangerous driving costs lives. Our crews are working as quickly as possible to collect your recycling and move out of your way speedily. The good news is you can help our crews stay safer on the roads easily, and not just through driving carefully. A well sorted recycling box can not only help increase recycling rates, but it will also help crews sort the boxes more quickly, and help us move out the way in less time.”

On average a messy recycling box will take 120 seconds for a crew member to sort, whereas one with the materials well separated takes just 40 seconds. We make over 17 million collections every week and if every box was sorted, hours of labour could be saved, carbon footprint greatly reduced, traffic could be eased, recycling rates increased and the city could save valuable funds.

Driving on the footway (or pavement) is an offence under section 72 of the Highways Act 1835 and is also prohibited by rule 145 of the Highway Code.

Watch the video

“While our work ensures materials get a second life, our crews only have one. Please be patient – dangerous driving costs lives."


If you enjoyed this blog, go ahead and share it!