A COUNCIL lorry driver has been caught on camera driving in a narrow residential street with what appears to be a mobile phone pressed to his ear.
The Clackmannanshire council worker in high-visibility gear can be seen in the video with a white object to his ear as he drives past the camera.
Clackmannanshire Council, whose crest can clearly be seen on the side of the 7.5 tonne vehicle, has confirmed it is investigating.
The footage, posted by website Scotland’s Worst Drivers, was filmed at 11.30am on January 22, on Menstrie Road, Tullibody.
It shows the driver of the car with the dash-cam turning at a roundabout before needing to overtake a car on their side of the road.
As the lorry passes the car the driver can be seen with a white object to his ear before the van goes out of sight.
The video was taken by YouTube user “1ninjatracey” who wrote on his channel: “ [The] driver shows complete disregard for the safety of all those around him, other road users, pedestrians and his fellow worker. To do this in your own car is bad enough but to do it in a Council liveried vehicle.”
A spokesman for Scotland’s Worst Drivers said: “I’m appalled at the amount of incidents coming to light almost daily featuring ‘professional’ drivers working for local authorities.
“Only yesterday we heard about the driver of a bin lorry falling asleep and drifting across a busy road in Edinburgh.
“Standards are evidently slipping and these need to be addressed before someone is seriously injured or killed.”
Referring to the Glasgow bin lorry tragedy in which six died, Scottish Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone said: “After the Glasgow tragedy, it is essential we learn absolutely every lesson possible to reduce the chances of such a repeat.
“If this shows a council driver on the phone while driving such a large vehicle, the public will be extremely concerned.
“I hope the local authority reminds its drivers of their responsibilities to be law-abiding while on the road.”
An AA spokeswoman said: “Drivers who use a hand held mobile phone at the wheel are risking the lives of all other road users, as well as their own.
“There is no excuse for drivers who continue to flout the laws around hand held mobile phone use when driving – they are there to protect everyone and need to be heeded.”
The bin lorry driver who was caught sleeping at the wheel on Lanark Road, Edinburgh, on January 20 has been sacked from Edinburgh City Council.
A spokeswoman for Clackmannanshire Council said: “We take any reports of staff not operating vehicles safely extremely seriously, and now that we have been made aware of this allegation we will be looking into this as quickly and thoroughly as possible.
“All drivers of Council vehicles are aware that they should not use mobile phones while driving. It would be inappropriate to make any further comment while this investigation is underway.”
