Anger over Wolverhampton 'bin man seen on their phone'
A bin lorry driver is at the centre of an investigation after being apparently caught on his mobile phone behind the wheel. The driver was snapped last Tuesday morning.
Fairview Crescent, Wednesfield resident Trelawna Austins says he was driving on the street with one hand for at least five minutes as he chatted away at around 7.30am being followed by colleagues emptying the bins.Mrs Austins, 52, said: "He pulled up outside our house and I saw him on his phone.
"He carried on around the corner, still on his phone and was driving and talking. I didn't time it, but it must have been for at least five minutes.
"I've reported it to the council so hopefully they'll do something about it.
"It was about 7.30am, so there wasn't too many people about.
"The blokes who put the bins on were there. I quite often see them walking around talking on their phones.
"He was driving one-handed, if the police had seen him he would have been booked.
"It's not too busy here, but there is a school nearby and there are sometimes children around.
"There are lots of parked cars around and it wouldn't be easy to navigate around in a normal car, never mind a great big lorry."
The self-employed online retailer added: "I was really angry when I saw it, it's obviously quite a dangerous thing to do.
"He wasn't driving fast, maybe five or 10mph, but you wouldn't want to see a bus driver driving like that.
"We are constantly being told how dangerous it is to drive a car whilst on the phone, how much more dangerous is it to drive a bin wagon around narrow streets around a school? "
A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesman said: "We are aware of the incident that has been reported through our customer services team.
"The driver concerned is an employee of our waste and recycling provider Amey.
"Amey has been fully informed and is investigating the matter," the spokesman added.
An Amey spokesman added about the alleged incident: "Amey takes the safety of its employees and the communities it serves extremely seriously.
"We are aware of this alleged incident and are in the process of conducting an investigation.
"It is unacceptable for any of our drivers to use mobile phones whilst operating a vehicle and we will always look to take disciplinary action against any employee found to be at fault."
