Stupid-looking action that might have been clever

[donkmeister]

I was driving through a semi-rural part of Berkshire this morning, when I found a dustcart driver was stopped with the nose pointing unnecessarily out of a side road just before a lefthand corner with no pavement and a high brick wall to the nearside. I would have slowed right down anyway, but from experience on this sort of corner there's often a bell who doesn't and aims for the invisible apex/crosses the centre line. So, regardless of intent I was forced to slow right down to go round the dustcart. I didn't like doing it so close to a blind corner so was muttering to myself as I hoped nothing was coming the other way.

As I rounded the apex (still going slowly of course) I happened upon a dustman walking in the road (back-to-traffic) to retrieve a wheelie bin. After passing him it dawned on me... that was actually quite a clever move on the part of the dustcart driver. Yes it annoyed me that someone was creating an unnecessary obstacle but in fact he was creating a pretty decent mobile chicane to slow down traffic that was approaching from behind his mate to save getting squashed or dragging bins both ways across the road, twice. Hopefully traffic coming the other way would think "Ah, dustman, must be a dustcart past that corner!" but we'll never know.

Bravo dusty, bravo.

[Pica-Pica]

Standard process, cart driver protects co-workers. Be careful though, many refuse collectors run from place to place - job and finish, and they also time their collections to before and after the morning school run, often sitting up somewhere in-between.