I was looking out my window on a bright autumn day, and for a split second, I had to do a double take... the municipal waste collection truck was creeping down the street, but the driver’s seat was completely empty.
Nobody was behind the wheel on the left side. Instead, the operator was steering this massive rig straight from the curbside, stopping on a dime right where the yard waste sat, and stepping out of the right-hand door - directly onto the grass boulevard - to toss a heavy bag of leaves without ever stepping into live traffic. Looking inside that open cab, the secret was revealed: there were actually two steering wheels in there.
Stepping right onto the grass boulevard: dual-station controls allow operators to service curbs safely without stepping into traffic.
Artist's Rendition by SCG NIAGARA
The "Ghost Driver" Illusion: Mirrored Engineering at Work
It looks like something imported straight out of the UK, with the driver actively steering from the right side of the truck instead of the left.
Look closely into the cab next time one stops out front and you might notice something bizarre: two steering wheels sitting right inside the same truck (though not all of them have this setup).