New initiative aims to protect waste and recycling crews from motorists mounting pavements and undertaking risky overtakes.
By Laura Medhurst
••3 min read
AI
Safety message on a waste collection vehicle reminding motorists that a person with a family is behind the truck.
Oxford Direct Services (ODS) has launched a new workforce safety campaign, DROPs (Driving Recklessly on Pavements), following numerous dangerous driving incidents involving waste and recycling crews across the city.
The campaign, named DROPs, seeks to remind motorists to slow down and exercise patience around working vehicles, recognising the essential frontline services provided by waste and recycling operatives. ODS crews consistently report dangerous driving behaviours, including vehicles mounting pavements, attempting to squeeze past collection vehicles in narrow roads, and making last-second overtakes. These actions pose risks not only to the crews but also to pedestrians and other members of the public, including children who share these spaces.
Between March 2025 and August 2026, ODS recorded 15 incidents of vehicles driving dangerously on pavements during waste and recycling collection operations, with each incident reported to the police. Some reports have led to prosecutions, including fines and driving bans. This issue reflects a national trend, with waste industry operators reporting thousands of similar incidents annually. National statistics from the Department of Transport indicate that 445 people were killed in collisions involving a working driver in a recent period, accounting for 29% of all road fatalities.
ODS teams provide vital services daily to maintain Oxford's cleanliness and functionality, collecting over half a million domestic bins monthly and offering commercial waste and recycling services. To support the campaign, new safety messaging has been introduced on staff uniforms and collection vehicles. Uniforms feature messages such as "Someone's waiting for me at home" and "Protect the people who look after your streets," while vehicle signage includes reminders like "Someone's loved one is behind this truck" and "This street is someone's workplace." The campaign underscores that every crew member is a valued individual with family and loved ones, deserving to return home safely.
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"Our recycling and waste crews deliver essential services to residents and businesses every day, often working in challenging environments and busy streets. We see near miss incidents involving dangerous driving, including vehicles mounting pavements, attempting risky overtaking and squeezing through spaces where it simply isn't safe to do so. Behind every collection vehicle and every member of our workforce is a person with family and loved ones waiting for them at home. The message is clear: the street is a workplace, and everyone has a role to play in protecting the people who keep Oxford's streets clean. A few extra seconds of waiting could prevent a serious accident."
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"Health and safety is one of ODS's core values. We continue to strengthen the measures we have in place to protect our staff through training, equipment, reporting systems, on-street safety practices and CCTV technology fitted to our fleet. But keeping people safe is a shared responsibility and we need motorists to play their part. No one should face unnecessary risks simply for doing their job."
ODS has invested in safety measures including enhanced training, improved reporting systems, specialist equipment, and CCTV technology across its vehicle fleet. The organisation urges all road users to contribute to safer streets by slowing down near collection vehicles, allowing crews space to work, avoiding overtaking unless clearly safe, never driving onto pavements to pass working vehicles, and remaining patient. The campaign stresses that saving a few seconds is never worth risking a life.
Based on information from the official source: Oxford City Council (06/10/2026)
