Jobsworth plumbers strike again.

[timwilky]

Yesterday, on my way home I passed my son and his mate parked at the side of the road with their boss in the company of a plumber and young pretty female PSCO.

I have just seen the lad and asked him what they had been up to and I got a story he is not at all happy with.

They work for a small landscape gardening company. One of their contracts is with the local council to supply and maintain baskets of flowers suspended about 12ft high from lamp posts. The way they maintain them is to drive the flatbed alongside the lamppost and the guy on the back goes up a small set of steps, waters the basket, prunes out any dead ones etc.

So my lad has been done 3 points and £60 for driving on the pavement. The lad on the back has been done for being on the back, I don't know what the offence is, probably no seatbelt or similar. The boss was there because they wanted to seize the vehicle as uninsured. Nah, it is on his fleet policy.

They are not happy, been onto the council who cannot help with the points/fines etc.

It would appear the plumber wants them to go back onto the road for the 25 yards between each lamp post, for the guy on the back to return to the cab between lamp posts and for the fleet policy to identify every vehicle instead of saying any vehicle either owned/leased or rented by the company.

Jobs worth or what, surely he has the discretion to let the guys do their legitimate work. I just wonder how the presence of the female PCSO affected the guys judgement or lack of.

[tigersaw]

They sound a right cowboy outfit.

[maviczap]

This is the sort of daft practice that needs stopping

Better things to do like catching Moat

[Bluepete]

I imagine the points are for "passengers being carried in a dangerous manner".

The application of the law is correct in respect of what we know, however, it's harsh in the circumstances described.

It's one of those "It's only a minor thing, no-one will mind" offences. Maybe the Cop has experience of a serious injury RTC in a similar circumstance. We all have personal bug-bears. People have suffered serious injuries in fall from very low heights. I guess a flat bed truck is about four or five feet up, then the height of the lad with the watering kit...

Harsh but fair?

Pete

[embee]

What the **** happened to the verbal ticking off? No need for dumping 3 points on someone just doing an honest days work, warning would do.

"Don't be an ar$e, don't you realise how dangerous that could be, we could do you for X,Y,Z, don't do it again."

..or does that just leave the cop open to discipline if they continued to do it and something happened? Jobsworth? Easy score on their tally?

why don't they use a truck with the water tank on the back and a hose on a long pole, no need for two people no need to drive on the pavement and no need for stupid steps.

[maviczap]

Because that would be using common sense and far too easy

[timwilky]

Because they are paying two lads on minimum wage, they get to use what the boss gives them and they do as told.

[Bri w]

Originally Posted by embee

What the **** happened to the verbal ticking off? No need for dumping 3 points on someone just doing an honest days work, warning would do.

"Don't be an ar$e, don't you realise how dangerous that could be, we could do you for X,Y,Z, don't do it again."

Whoa Neddy!

Far too much commonsense.