Have you noticed how the bin men think they own the roads these days?
This morning, I saw one drive into the single lane formed by a set of temporary lights in Mapperley just before Somersby Road – the lights changed to red straight after and two or three cars had followed the bin men in. However, they were doing the standard bin men thing and stopping to reverse into a side road. Naturally, with cars coming in the other end it wasn’t a pretty sight.
Last week, I got stuck behind a bin lorry (reg. no. FN09 KVX ) which had decided that the best place to stop was immediately next to a pedestrian refuge – thus completely blocking the 40mph A60 in Bunny.
Bin Men Parking
He began to move off, and as I started to pass him he switched off his warning lights and began to accelerate (I think he thought I had a learner in the car). 
About 70 metres further on he stopped again – right on a junction – and turned his warning lights back on.
I’m certain they do this deliberately. Bus drivers are little better, but bin emptying day is a nightmare on narrow streets (even though the A60 is hardly narrow). The bin men make no effort to minimise hold ups – indeed, they seem to revel in it. They walk into the road, stand in the way… just about anything they can to say “hey, look at me”!
But as employees of Le Cirque du Nottingham County Council, you can’t really expect much else.