OPINION: It’s time people realised lorry drivers are vulnerable road users too

When I got the call to say a SunSkips driver had been in an accident, I immediately feared the worst.

Thirty-two-tonne lorries don’t tend to get into the kind of traffic incidents you walk away from easily, especially when they’ve been completely tipped over onto their sides.

So you can imagine my relief when I discovered that our team member escaped with only minor injuries (the one-week-old lorry in question was another story…)

Photos of the Cambridge incident’s aftermath make it easy to imagine how badly things could have gone for the driver (and other road users) had they not taken the evasive action they did that day.

The dangerous motorist who forced the driver to act quickly and avoid the collision not only risked the lives of everyone on the road, but didn’t even have the decency to stop and help.

We all know what it’s like when some nutter is going hell for leather down the motorway with little regard for his fellow road users.

“They’re going to kill someone, one day,” you mutter under your breath as you stay well out of their way, hoping their luck will stretch out just a bit longer.

But for lorry drivers, staying out of the way of cars cutting everyone up is easier said than done, while standing their ground can lead to tragedy.

When we posted the images of the lorry smashed to bits at the side of the road on social media, some people commented that they were surprised a lorry would lose in a run in with a car.

But it simply doesn’t work like that. Due to the size and weight of a fully loaded SunSkips lorry, any collisions involving other road users is likely to end in tragedy. You’d be a very brave (and arguably foolish) HGV driver to continue on your course and shunt into a car that’s swerving all over the place, because you could risk being found at fault in an incident that would potentially kill them.

Taking evasive action is often the only course when faced with a severely careless motorist – even at the risk of the driver’s own safety (and the expensive asset in their care).

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Lorry drivers in the UK have had a tough time in recent years, from the fuel crisis to the long hours many took on to make up for the worker shortage – so the least we can do is look out for them on the roads.

Lorry driving in the UK: a rough ride

The media has a habit of making lorry drivers out to be dangerous road users, with regular tabloid reports of dramatic crashes and careless behaviour.

But the reality is that accidents involving lorries have plummeted in recent years, with a 50% drop in incidents between 2011 and 2021.

Drivers need more than just an HGV licence to get behind the wheel. They must undergo a rigorous CPC (Certificate of Professional Competence) course, which is 35 hours of training, and are required to repeat it every five years.

Driving a lorry is a far more demanding job than people give it credit for. During the pandemic, there were press reports of companies offering salaries inline with lawyers and financial analysts as if it were some sort of outrage that a person who does a gruelling, often dangerous job, day in, day out should be fairly compensated.

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While SunSkips drivers don’t face quite the same challenges as long-haul lorry drivers who are forced to sleep in their cabs, health and safety statistics for lorry drivers in general are quite worrying.

Lorry drivers have a higher chance of being diagnosed with diabetes, suffer from hypertension, sleep apnoea, musculoskeletal disorders and are even more likely to get heart disease and cancer.

Most lorry drivers face early mornings and time away from their families, especially during busy times like Christmas.

During the pandemic, it became clear to the public that the nation’s HGV drivers are a vital lifeline, but it seems that’s become a distant memory with motorists still cutting them up and people complaining about lorries and lorry parks in their neighbourhood, all while enjoying the fruits of their labours.

So let’s consider how we might take better care of our nation’s lorry drivers…

Looking out for the big guy

Just because they’re big and heavy doesn’t mean they’re indestructible.

If you find yourself “stuck” behind a lorry next time you’re out, make the effort to keep the driver, yourself and other road users as safe as possible:

• Consider how close you are to the lorry and if that presents a potential hazard. Lorry drivers can’t see vehicles that don’t leave an appropriate distance and driving too close impairs your own visibility for spotting signage and incidents ahead – as well as your ability to react.
• Give lorry drivers plenty of indication when changing lanes. Quickly darting in front of a lorry can create unnecessary panic.
• Be patient with lorries on smaller roads and only overtake if it’s 100% safe to do so, being mindful that they have a larger blindspot than cars.
• Leave lorries a little extra space to manoeuvre when they’re turning off or pulling out.
• Stick to speed limits and be aware that it’s difficult for lorries to move quickly because the weight they’re carrying means they need longer to break and accelerate.

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By being a little more considerate, incidents like the one in Cambridge don’t need to happen and everyone can get to where they’re going in one piece.

Driving our success

I’m incredibly proud of all our lorry drivers at SunSkips, especially after the conditions they’ve worked under in recent years.

SunSkips has had a fantastic year so far, and it’s in no small part down to them working tirelessly to collect waste from residents and businesses all over Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.

And despite everything they endure, it’s great to hear how passionate SunSkips drivers are about what they do (and to see them having a bit of fun competing on social media over who delivered a skip to the trickiest spot).

Lorry drivers go through enough, so I think it’s about time they were given the respect they deserve, both as essential workers keeping our struggling economy on its feet and vulnerable road users that we should all be looking out for.

We urge the driver of the BMW that caused the incident mentioned in this article to do the right thing and report to Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

Anyone with any information or video footage should contact the authorities directly or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 as it might support CCTV evidence already obtained from a nearby restaurant.