Dashcam footage captures moment impatient van driver veers off road onto footpath
Dash cam footage of the moment an impatient van storms onto a footpath in Staffordshire to pass a gully cleaner
Dashcam footage of a van mounting the pavement to drive past a gully cleaner has been released as Staffordshire County Council warns this "unacceptable behaviour" is not unusual.
The council says highways workers have been put at risk hundreds of times on the county's roads and even had "abuse hurled at them".
The clip that shows a van with a trailer storming past the highway agency's vehicle has been shared with Staffordshire Police and the driver was given a formal warning.
It shows a van and a trailer going over a pavement before rejoining the road in front of the gully cleaner, which comes to a sudden stop to allow the dangerous manoeuvre to be completed.
Leaders of the county council say this is one of more than 500 recorded incidents across Staffordshire in the last 12 months.Workers have reported drivers ignoring signs, jumping traffic lights, going through road closures and mounting kerbs to squeeze past road works.
Richard Harris, account director for Amey - which works with the county council to maintain Staffordshire's roads, says incidents are only increasing.
He said: "We are seeing an increase in incidents where the safety of our highways operatives is being placed at risk.
"Poor driving behaviour on Staffordshire roads will not be tolerated and appropriate action can and will be taken against motorists whose driving behaviour can be called into question."Mr Harris continued: “Our highways operatives work in a dangerous environment, often on fast roads where traffic flow is significant.
"We would urge all drivers to exercise caution and patience when driving through roadworks."Staffordshire Police has issued a number of warnings on the back of dashcam footage provided by highways crews.
Inspector Mark Joynson, of the force's road policing team, said: "Highways workers should be able to do their essential maintenance and repair work on our roads without fear of being verbally abused or sustaining injury through dangerous driving.“We urge drivers to be patient and safe, when driving through road works, in order to protect themselves and others from harm.
"We will take robust action against any person found to be abusing Highway workers or driving in a dangerous manner on our roads.”David Williams, cabinet member for highways and transport at Staffordshire County Council, says it is 'unacceptable' how some members of the public behave.
He said: "Our highways workers have an important job to do in keeping our roads running and maintained.
"They work in all weather, often in very challenging conditions and they have the right to be safe when going about their work.“It is unacceptable that some members of the public choose to behave in this way and put workers lives at risk just because they can’t be bothered to wait for traffic lights to change or work to be completed.“We know it’s only a small number of people who choose to behave this way, but we want to let people know we won’t stand for it.”