Bangs and prangs involving council street sweepers caused more than £15,000 worth of damages in the past two years, figures show.

Information acquired from a recent Freedom of Information request revealed from July 2015 to July 2017, accidents involving Dorset Waste Partnership (DWP) street sweepers cost the council £15,017.32 in damages and repairs.

Accidents included reversing into a shop sign, driving into a property’s boundary wall and knocking over a memorial bench.

One driver cost the council's insurance team £895.87 when he returned to the depot with a smashed windscreen and could not explain how the damage occurred.

When CCTV footage was reviewed, it revealed the wayward driver had crashed into the back of a parked vehicle with a tyre carrier on the rear.

In January, a driver cost £1767.27 of damage when they reversed into a bay in the DWP car park and crashed into another staff members parked car.

A spokesperson from DWP said all drivers received certificated manufacturer training to ensure they were fully competent in the operation and use of road sweepers.

They added the DWP issued all drivers with a handbook and they received annual Certificate of Professional Competence training to ensure their continued professionalism and knowledge regarding driving vehicles for a living.

The largest pay out in the last two years was in June 2016 when a driver was manoeuvring on St Nicholas Street in Weymouth and crashed into a barrier and wall.

The incident caused damage to the barrier and cost £2740.24 to repair.

Another road sweeper caused £342.06 of damage when a property’s boundary wall collapsed after the sweeper drove into it.

Mike Moon, Head of Service (Operations) for the Dorset Waste Partnership, said: “Accidents are obviously regrettable, but very rare. In the context of the vast amount of work our street cleansing teams carry out, we feel the low amount of accidents that have occurred is not a particular cause for concern.

“Sweeper drivers are trained by the vehicle manufacturer before they are allowed to use the vehicles. Any accident involving a DWP vehicle is thoroughly investigated and dealt with swiftly by Dorset County Council’s insurance team.

“Following an accident or incident, if it is considered that a member of staff requires further training, this is provided.

“We will continue to regularly review our training procedures and work closely with our drivers to ensure that accidents continue to be kept to an absolute minimum.”

CONTACT ME:
t: 01305 830809
e: caroline.lewis@dorsetecho.co.uk
twitter: @DorsetEchoCaz