A lorry driver escaped with only minor injuries after his vehicle ploughed through a wall and hit an electricity sub station in Sheffield.
The driver of the heavy goods vehicle was freed from the accident on Shepcote Lane, Tinsley, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said the lorry demolished the corner of a building in the accident.
Engineers are working to make the area safe, a spokeswoman added.
It turns out that this was a Polish agency driver, driving for TNT and had just loaded print at the new Polestar factory just up the road.
He escaped with cuts and bruises but if it he had been going any faster he would have demolished the power sub station and been fried to death.
I managed to get a few pics afterwards :
Shepcote Lane. The driver came from round the corner in the distance and ploughed across the central reservation and through the perimeter wall of the steel works :
Closer shot of the damage :
Not a steep hill by any account so how did he manage to get it so wrong? :
Looking down the hill from the other direction :
Lost control going round this gentle bend and ploughed into the wall on the other side :
Possibly because he fell asleep after working 14 consecutive shifts ?
Or he misunderstood road signs?
Who knows it could be a number of reasons?
But I know one company who has Polish Drivers through an Agency and the transport manager was bragging about how good they were and was impressed they were only working 5 days per week, until the accounts department pointed out they were doing the other 2 days at another depot and the agency was in fact billing the company for 7 days for each driver.
Now in my opinion the Agency should have been thrown out for permitting them to work 7 days a week, but as there is a driver shortage Well !!! say no more
2 polish drivers also did £4k worth of damage when trying to connect the unit up to the rear of the trailer in Spalding, one driving the other watching him back, Just how they expected the Suzi’s to stretch 40ft is beyond me now you try and tell me that they both held a Driving Licence for that type of vehicle when they didn’t even know how to hitch a tractor unit and trailer up
Is there any wonder 12 of them have the same name ■■?
Isn’t it nice to know we are all in safe hands. The big, heavy extremely dangerous trucks are only driven by fully qualified, safe professionals. Apparently not.
Is it relevant that this was a Polish guy? Its not as if this was a stereotypical left ■■■■■■ side swipe
Idea for a show (Alan Partridge style) — RobK Investigates!
Yea spaceman not to worry hey accidents happen , oh dear what if someone had been walking along that path , oh well accidents happen hey ,
accidents happen , tell that to the family left behind when their dad/husband/son was killed riding along on his motorcycle by a Hargraves Int eastern bloc monkey overtaking a tractor on a blind bend on a road he shouldnt even have been anywhere near
oh well accidents happen
I have said this point else where here before but, it is a true fact ,and that is
you can and do get documents issused or forged easily in the eastern countrys as here,if the person wishes to drive any where then ,surely it would make sense and save firm money if they were to do a safety check drive with the person in question,and if the person can not speak the language of the country in which he or she wishes to work,then sorry no thank you,because this person constitutes a danger as regards H&S .
brit pete:
I have said this point else where here before but, it is a true fact ,and that is
you can and do get documents issused or forged easily in the eastern countrys as here,if the person wishes to drive any where then ,surely it would make sense and save firm money if they were to do a safety check drive with the person in question,and if the person can not speak the language of the country in which he or she wishes to work,then sorry no thank you,because this person constitutes a danger as regards H&S .
This is all down to GREED by the employer / agencey , why employ a British driver when they can get a eastern bloc driver for £5.50 an hour who cares if they have a ■■■■ now and again we are insured
Davey Driver said about agencey drivers in Spalding , there is one agencey I know of who wont take on British drivers anymore , he is based in Spalding and his name is similar to DAY BURNER and the standard of drivers he is sending out is complete rollocks , now who do you blame I dont blame the drivers , I blame the agenceys and the employers , the drivers are getting the p taken out of them for working for peanuts, yes above the minimum wage to keep it all nice and legal but to a eastern blocer the money seems quite good, so they are happy to work for 5 or 6 quid an hour all day sunday while the greedy ■■■■■■■ bosses are charging them out at premium sunday rate
Suffolk ReeferBoy:
This is all down to GREED by the employer / agencey , why employ a British driver when they can get a eastern bloc driver for £5.50 an hour who cares if they have a ■■■■ now and again we are insured
I got an email offering me drivers recently
How can the recruitment of drivers from Central and Eastern Europe benefit your business?
By introducing hardworking, committed and reliable people into your team, you will increase the productivity of your operation.
Is it that simple?
It can be.
If you choose to source people through the right agency you can reap the benefits without experiencing any of the problems.
******* bridging the gap
We are the only UK agency based in the region who specifically recruits central and eastern European drivers for UK businesses through our offices in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Latvia.
We have the widest experience of recruiting drivers for the UK Market and every month we place HGV 1, HGV 2 and PCV drivers with companies in the UK. In addition we have established a driver training program for large scale recruitment drives where we quickly and cheaply put drivers through driving schools locally, including awarding a valid EU licence.
Our service to you:
o A realistic assessment of what recruiting from Central and Eastern European Region will mean for your business.
o A customised recruitment process, including skill tests and organizing driver training before the candidates come to you if required.
Getting the right people:
o Hardworking, well qualified English speaking staff.
o Thorough screening according to your personal requirements
o Officially certified police and professional background checks.
Establishment in the UK
o Organising all travel arrangements
o Guidance in the accommodation of your staff and their registration in the UK
o Supplying candidates with UK simcards and a guide to living and working abroad.
Please call *** **** at ******* on +*** *** **** **** to discuss how we can help you.
Is it relevant that this was a Polish guy? Its not as if this was a stereotypical left ■■■■■■ side swipe
Idea for a show (Alan Partridge style) — RobK Investigates!
Yea spaceman not to worry hey accidents happen , oh dear what if someone had been walking along that path , oh well accidents happen hey , daft merchant banker,
accidents happen , tell that to the family left behind when their dad/husband/son was killed riding along on his motorcycle by a Hargraves Int eastern bloc monkey overtaking a tractor on a blind bend on a road he shouldnt even have been anywhere near
oh well accidents happen
Bit confused here. So accidents don’t happen? Maybe he swerved for a Sheffield joy rider?
Can you statistically prove that accidents involving Polish drivers, in the UK, are dis proportiantly higher than accidents involving other EC drivers in this Country?
I’m sorry to here about the Hargraves incident you mentioned. Regrettably, 9 people die every day on our roads. But I can’t support your prejudice views, even if they are supported by other drivers on here, without justification.
If that makes me a “merchant banker”, then so be it, I’ll sleep easy.
spaceman, you are not getting the point ,that some of us are trying to explain,
and it consists of the following, IF someone wishes to work any where in the EU then these people must be qualified in the job and also be capable of
communication in the language of the country in which they are working.
Look at job offers not just in the UK but abroad it states one must speak
the language of the employing country,AND any person must be taken through a safety check driveing test and written exam on the various aspects of paper work and if trained on a silo tanker,or roadtanker, etc also
checked if they are competent with the equipment or require a period of training to introduce the driver to the equipement ,
I live and work in Germany and to get the job that i have at present ,it was
a definite requirement for me to speak,read and write the language,
I’m new to this site, so bear with me: I agree with Spaceman - without knowing any details, we cannot come to any conclusion, or apportion any blame, regarding this specific accident. Instead, we should be grateful that a fellow driver escaped with only “minor” injuries.
If it’s ok to racially stereotype, then what about our friends from Eire, who regularly run from ferry terminals in the north, to Dover without either a break or a speed limiter?
The problem, as I see it, is employers (usually large logistics/supermarkets) who, in an effort to cut costs, will employ [/i]anyone who can (just about) get the job done. And then there’s the agencies that provide drivers without any assessment/records check…[/i]
brit pete:
spaceman, you are not getting the point ,
Pete - have you made a point?
I agree lack of training etc is not good in terms of risk assessment and accident prevention.
But blaming the Poles, or anyone else for that matter, is deplorable without hard facts.
If and when such facts, from a reputable source, are made available, then I will happily jump on your band wagon. I drive abroad, so I am very conscious that I could find myself on the wrong end of stereotype views about the British!.
statistically foreign drivers will have more bumps than locals because mostly the steering wheel will be on the wrong side coupled with driving on the wrong side of the road plus driving on unfamiliar roads…
Just keep em’ on coming over here the more the merrier, my latest master plan is to get one of them to do my job for half what i get and i get the other half cant be bad eh??..
The more of them that come over the quicker our rates will go down maybe then the more liberal minded people on here will start to listen.
Isn’t it nice to know we are all in safe hands. The big, heavy extremely dangerous trucks are only driven by fully qualified, safe professionals. 
who cares if they have a ■■■■ now and again we are insured