IT WAS like a scene from Police Camera Action. A lorry driving through a Derby suburb carrying two cars balanced precariously — in a skip.
A man in a car following the lorry — at a safe distance — used a video camera to capture the bizarre sight.
The film shows the lorry heading through Spondon, before it pulls into the centre of Ladywood Road to overtake a surprised cyclist as it travels towards Ilkeston.
Officers from Derbyshire police said the force would investigate the footage as it looked like an offence may have been committed.
Bill Legg, owner of Shaftesbury Street-based recycling company Metallon, the firm which operates the lorry, said the vehicles would have been properly secured.
“I can see why people might think it is not safe because it does look a bit unsightly, but in 12 years we have never lost a car.
“Chains will have been placed through the cars to keep them secure and you can see they are bottom-heavy, so there is no chance of them falling off the truck.
“The drivers are not silly. They know the procedures and I am confident they would have been followed in this case,” he said.
But Inspector Ruth Harper, from the force’s South Road Traffic Unit, said: “It looks like an unsafe act with the potential of danger. It is difficult to see if the two vehicles in the skip are secure or not and I think had we spotted the lorry on the day, we would have taken action and certainly stopped it for inspection.
“I have now tasked an officer to speak to the company that owns the lorry in question. If there is evidence to suggest that an offence did take place we will take further action.”
A spokeswoman for road safety campaign group Brake said the charity was pleased the police were investigating after seeing the video.
“Overloading a vehicle is extremely dangerous and drivers don’t just run the risk of dropping their load into the road, it also means the vehicle is unstable, more difficult to stop and can take longer to stop.
“We are pleased the police are investigating this case and would urge them to continue taking any overloading incidents very seriously,” she said.
The film was posted on video sharing website YouTube by a user called Stipeman, who wrote on the site: “I couldn’t believe it so I grabbed my camera. I should have phoned the police, I think, looking back. If he had had to brake hard I would have been hit.”
Police are keen to speak to the person who filmed the incident and are urging them to call PC Simon Gore on 0845 123 3333.
I’ve watched the video and I did not see any of the load moving so it seems that they were secured safely. I ASSUME that both the car front ends were inside the skip to prevent any forward motion whilst braking.
The truck looks like a full sized LGV so I don’t think WEIGHT would be a problem.
I don’t see any problems - OR have I missed something
Can’t see a problem - not over 16ft. or overwheight and the load appears to be secure. If the car driver thought it was insecure he was far too close behind had one of the cars come off the back. Didn’t leave much room for the cyclist he overtook either, and the preparation for the overtake of the skip lorry was not very safe in my opinion.
I don’t see a problem either. I read the response from the self appointed unelected untrained pleb from BRAKE. They suggested overloaded, unsafe, and more difficult to stop and take longer to stop.
I agree with the last three posters.Rog, Limeyphil, and Gardun. The driver does not appear to have been hanging about. He had to brake on a number of occasions yet the load seemed to be stable. When he overtook the cyclist on the left-hand bend the load showed no sign of lateral movement. Maybe the police would like to ask the driver of the car, whether he/she was operating the camera while driving . Not Guilty m,lud.
Fired off an e-mail to Brake suggesting they get someone who knows what they are talking about when making comments. I watched the video and can’t see anything wrong with the load, vehicle or the way it was driven.
Of course the company who runs the skip lorry rolls over and surrenders instead of telling them to [zb] off. The late Donald Malcolm once told the Scottish Daily Record to do just that when they had a go at his drivers. It did not do him or his business any harm.
Who was the clown who said it was a ‘no brainer’ on the tv interview? And what about the car driver? He didn’t commit any offences?
Everyone should follow suit and flood their site. brake@brake.org.uk
Alex
I’ve watched the video several times now and I can’t see any offences there (and I’m ex-traffic FFS!).
Not over 16’6" high, load and skip didn’t move at all (indicating that the driver has secured it), plenty of room given when the cyclist was overtaken…in fact, it’s probably the best driving I’ve seen from a skipper driver in a long time!
The local fuzz won’t have a chance of prosecuting anything from that video and that’s for sure!
If anything, the following car driver and his dumb-■■■ mate need a slap for being an “Armchair Expert” (a person who knows all about something he actually knows F-All about).
Shrek:
I’ve watched the video several times now and I can’t see any offences there (and I’m ex-traffic FFS!).
Not over 16’6" high, load and skip didn’t move at all (indicating that the driver has secured it), plenty of room given when the cyclist was overtaken…in fact, it’s probably the best driving I’ve seen from a skipper driver in a long time!
The local fuzz won’t have a chance of prosecuting anything from that video and that’s for sure!
If anything, the following car driver and his dumb-■■■ mate need a slap for being an “Armchair Expert” (a person who knows all about something he actually knows F-All about).
Well, how nice to see some unanimity for a change.
I agree with everything said above, and purposely watched the video before reading any responses and spoke aloud my own.
Not only did the cars not move but neither did the skip, not always the case with skips, so he must have strapped the whole lot to the wagon, not just the cars to the skip.
What a pity Brake, which was formed quite legitimately after a horrific brake failure accident in Yorkshire some years ago, should devalue their case by allowing such uninformed spokesmen loose on the world.
theres moaning do gooders where ever you go nowadays, having watched the video I couldnt see what skip driver had done wrong either, just yer typical armchair know it all who thinks they know everything but actually.know nowt at all.
methinks I should go up to Liverpool via Derby on monday and see what the expert makes of my trailer full of flattened car shells :
underneath make your mind up 
