A SHOCKING video shows a lorry driver miss a turning – then reverse up a busy road after realising his mistake.
Last week Craig Stoddart was gobsmacked to see a heavy goods vehicle driving backwards up one of Edinburgh’s most congested roads.
The 2-minute clip shows dozens of other drivers stop their cars and wait as the ten-wheeled lorry makes the dangerous manoeuvre.
And the driver has now been dubbed an “idiot” for putting other people’s lives at risk.
It is believed the lorry belongs to an Austrian company named Trawoeger, who transport large goods around Europe.
The video, which was taken at 4pm last Saturday, shows the vehicle slowly begin to reverse up the busy road.
Cars directly behind it try to overtake on the single-lane stretch, and are almost forced onto the verge to avoid being crushed.
The camera pans further back up the road, where dozens of other vehicles can be seen waiting as their drivers watch in shock at the unfolding events.
At one point, a large bang and clatter can be heard, though it is not clear whether the sound was caused by the lorry hitting something.
After an agonising minute, the driver finally reaches the point where it is able to make the turn across the road onto the other side.
He finally pulls out and heads towards a nearby industrial estate – but not before giving a withering look at Craig and his friend.
Craig shared the video online, with the caption: “I can’t believe what I’ve just seen. This idiot just missed the turning for the industrial estate on Sir Harry Lauder road and he reversed back.”
Throughout the video, Craig also makes his views on the foreign driver very clear.
He can be heard saying: “What a f****** idiot…that’s a really bad bit of driving.
“Did you hear that? What did he just hit?”
He also shouts “smile you f****** idiot” when he notices that the driver is staring at him.
At the end of the video he yells “w*****” as the lorry drives past.
A spokesman for Scotland’s Worst Drivers, a website which shames bad driver north of the border, also condemned the incident.
They said: “It’s clear this driver didn’t want to drive several miles to correct his error, however this is not the standard of driving we should expect from a professional.
“This is a single lane carriageway which meant he brought traffic to a standstill. It also sounded as though he hit something, but it isn’t clear what.
“It’s also worth noting this was a foreign registered vehicle and he perhaps panicked – however we would always encourage drivers who miss their turning to continue, and not to attempt to turnaround until it’s safe and legal to do so.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “Nobody reported this incident and we have received no complaints.”
Recently, another heavy goods vehicle was recorded reversing up a busy dual carriageway just yards from the Forth Road Bridge.
Christopher Bain, from Fife, caught the scene on camera and said “He was just about to cause a pileup at one point”.
The clip ended as a police car with its lights flashing turned up to help direct the lorry to safety.
Alexander Bauer, managing director at Trawoeger, said they were investigating the incident.
He said: “At the moment we are investigating. To have Trawoeger written on the side does not mean that this trailer actually worked from us.
“We have a fleet of 500 trucks and trailers but we also sell old trailers which still carry our colours and name.
“The drivers of our hauliers get trained yearly on how to behave on foreign roads and to respect national rules.
“Thank God nobody got injured and the other car drivers helped solve the incident by just stopping.
“At the moment – not even knowing if it was one of our hauliers driving – I can only apologise for the incident and take this up for the next driving training as an example of how not to behave on roads.”
