Discussion in the office this morning: Do bin men block the road on purpose?

[6Foot2]

So a major discussion has erupted in the office this morning: Do bin men park their trucks so that it as difficult as possible/impossible for motorists to pass them?

 

I haven't found it to be the case myself, but I hardly ever encounter bin truck when I drive in or leave due to the time of my journeys.

[3s-gtech]

They will often try to do so to ensure the safety of the collectors around the lorry (if they are out of it), who may step out or have to cross. Problem is, some motorists will then go to extreme lengths to get round them, and present even more of a danger (such as driving up onto the pavement during the school run!)

[caffrey]

I've encountered this but I don't think it's on purpose , they don't really have a choice sometimes. The most annoying thing for me is they leave the bin at the end of the drive -so when I return home I have to park up, move the bin, get back in the car then get on the drive - This happens every week! And the recycle wagons hit our area really early too, nice sound of glass at early o clock every other Friday....

[Sagima]

I see the bin lorries blocking traffic on the major roads around here most days on my walk in. My colleagues would really like them to limit collections to outside morning and afternoon rush hours.

[sippo]

A dustbin lorry stopping on a road to pick up rubbish on a road.

 

What a sorry state of affairs.

 

If it wasn't picked up, there would be complaints. For the sake of a couple of minutes.

[arwen]

Yes they block the narrow roads on purpose to stop people trying to squeeze past. When people try to squeeze past a bin lorry, they forget that at the rear people are working and moving bins around.

If the road is wide enough the lorry should move over to allow cars to pass, but if the driver deems it to be a danger then they will make it difficult for people to get by them. This should not effect oncoming traffic however.

 

I have no problems with them doing so, I would want the same protection if it was me working there.

[Koldov]

I personally think it depends what you mean by 'on purpose' and what that implies...

 

I had a similar argument/discussion with the OH last night after watching a bit of 'Nightmare Neighbours' about what constitutes 'inconsiderate'.

We have neighbours who talk rather loudly (to us it sounds like they are practically shouting at each other), but from what I gather it is pretty much in their culture, so I cannot in all honestly believe that they are being inconsiderate and to be fair apart from the odd loud BBQ in the summer they are otherwise ok and we could have it a lot worse! Playing loud music at 3 a.m.? Well now that is inconsiderate! However, I do sometimes waver on the edge in terms of where do you draw the line in allowing everybody to enjoy their own life. Maybe as long as it does not impact on anyone else's? Maybe there is a general perceived 'common standard' of behaviour? But we all know that you cannot please everybody all the time, especially in such a diverse society.

 

To that end I believe being inconsiderate means doing something that you know will upset, disadvantage, aggravate or inconvenience someone else 'on purpose', however if it is unavoidable or something that is part of a given set of circumstances it can be deemed not so.

 

Anyway, I digress and I'm sure that is a discussion for another time.

 

So, take for example refuse collectors...

 

They are I'm sure given a set route and a set time to complete said route. Now take into consideration the times of day they are given to their job and the amount of refuse they must collect, the health and safety implications (as mentioned) and the absolutely arduous task of weaving in and out of parked cars with a large truck, or finding a safe place to pull into - to which the individuals who are wheeling the bins to the truck would have to go (and then return the bin).

 

Add to this the amount of traffic they would have to give way to, or let pass in the morning rush hour and I can see that if I were the driver I would probably park it in the middle of the road. Yes, I would be doing that on purpose and yes, I would obviously know that it would disadvantage, aggravate or inconvenience some people on their way to work/drop their child at school.

 

Would I be inconsiderate..? Possibly, however I am doing my job to the best of my ability and to do it any other way would be making my job and my crew's job much more difficult and possibly unsafe. Also, it would be no more inconsiderate than roadworks, any building works, or underground works that block off roads or paths and many others (but just thinking of traffic related examples) and most of those can last months, not just a few minutes every week (and to be fair if you know where they are roughly every week....).

 

By the way I have to take the server down this afternoon, sorry!... 'Oh that IT tech is SO inconsiderate'

 

Hmmmm... There goes my lunch-time! Didn't mean to write so much, maybe just mentally carrying on the discussion with my OH!

 

I also still don't know how to answer the poll.... Probably YES, on purpose!

[6Foot2]

...I also still don't know how to answer the poll...

 

To clarify: The discussion arose from a long-held belief that the bin men do not need to block the road and that they do this just because they can. If it makes their jobs safer that is just a by-product of their deliberately difficult behavior.

 

Further clarification: This is not the case from my own experience. It is the stated position of some people here who joined the discussion when they visited the office.

Edited October 14, 2016 by 6Foot2
Added a 'y'

[Koldov]

To clarify: The discussion arose from a long-held belief that the bin men do not need to block the road and that they do this just because they can. If it makes their jobs safer that is just a by-product of their deliberately difficult behavior.

 

Ah, in that case I should have answered no. As in yes they do it knowingly, but no I don't believe they are being 'deliberately difficult' as such... That somehow implies they are holding up traffic 'for a laugh' or to spite everyone and they go back to the canteen and boast how many cars they've held up! Maybe they don't always 'need' to block the road, but I'd say they are just doing their job as quickly and as efficiently as they can for them, they do it day in, day out, every week. As I said, if I were the driver and it was a case of pulling in, safety, waiting for the 'bin men' to walk to me and back, giving way, down every road for every bit of traffic.... I would soon be parking in the middle of the road. I don't think I'd care much if it adds 5 or 10 minutes to your journey as it would probably mean adding hours to my schedule if I didn't!

 

I'd say it's a little like following a tractor down a country lane - I never know why they can't wait until there's no traffic, or pull over every time they have a car following them, or better still only work at night.

[Dos_Box]

I don't think they can win. I remebr when bin men used to come around at about 7am!

IIRC There were complaints (nationally) which is why they do it slightly later now.

They are doign an important job, so if I see them around my neighbourhood I either wait until they have gone or, if possible, choose an alternative route.

If they are on a main road I just have to suck it up and be patient.

[Gibbo]

They do it so they can drive off quickly. I remember a time when people would let a bus out of a bus stop. Now cars just sail on by. It would be the same with a bin lorry.

[GrumbleDook]

Damn ... if only the HSE had a section about municipal and commercial waste collection safety ... oh ...

 

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/waste04.pdf