20 Cars Follow Tanker Carrying Cement, Thinking It Was Filled With Petrol

A tanker driver says he was tailed by around 20 drivers who - incorrectly - thought he was carrying petrol.

Johnny Anderson works for Weaver Haulage and was transporting 44 tonnes of mortar from Wolverhampton to Northamptonshire on Thursday 30 September and realised he was being followed when he was on the A43, but didn't realise why.

After arriving at his destination, Johnny found a long line of traffic had gathered behind his tanker.

BBC

Johnny then had to break the news to his fellow road users that he wasn't carrying any petrol, and not everyone was best pleased.

Posting on Facebook, Johnny said the people who followed him became 'irate' when they discovered he wasn't carrying petrol and that one motorist even asked him for directions to the nearest petrol station.

He wrote: "Apparently it was all my fault they thought I was driving slowly because I had a full load of fuel. No, I was driving slowly through country lanes uphill because I'm 44 ton full of mortar."

Johnny was tailed as the UK struggles with fuel shortages, which has seen panic buying, huge queues and even fights breaking out at petrol stations.

Speaking to the BBC about the bizarre incident, Johnny said: "I didn't notice initially but then on the dual carriageway, I noticed nobody was overtaking me and saw a string of about 20 cars behind me.

"When I eventually turned left into a road that would take me to the site entrance, all these cars turned left with me."

When he eventually stopped at his final destination he said the cars behind him began to beep their horns and he initially thought something had fallen from his tanker.

Alamy

However, when he hopped out the man in the car directly behind him asked him which petrol station he was going to.

When Johnny explained that he wasn't going to any petrol station, the bloke replied 'why not?' prompting Johnny to explain that he wasn't actually carrying fuel.

Somewhat bafflingly the man then said: "You could have stopped and told us you weren't a petrol tanker."

Although Johnny managed to see the funny side of the incident, he also warned that following tankers could be dangerous due to the contents they are carrying and urged people not to be 'absolute morons'. Which I reckon is fantastic advice that applies to most situations.

Topics: UK News

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19