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Junction of Horton Square and Belgrave Middleway (source Google Street View)Rumble in Brum as "vigilante" cyclists stage bus lane protest
A group of cyclists in Birmingham have been described as “vigilantes” following an incident on Monday evening in which it is claimed a taxi was surrounded by riders, with one of the vehicle’s wing mirrors ripped off. The vehicle was attempting to use a bus lane from which taxis are excluded.
The cyclists were taking part in a flash ride organised via Facebook to urge Birmingham City Council to enforce rules that prevent black cabs, also known as Hackney Carriages, from being driven in some bus lanes in the city.
That includes the junction of Belgrave Middleway and Horton Square where Monday evening’s incident took place.
Writing on the event’s Facebook page on 7 October, organiser Toby Draper said:
“Too many cyclists have been injured, endangered or felt at risk at this junction due to motor vehicles using it illegally.
“This flash ride is being organised to send a message to the council that if the plans improve safety for cyclists, we welcome them.
“But we are watching closely and we expect enforcement to take place and fines to be issued in the event of ALL future violations.”
The junction is one that Birmingham City Council specifically identifies on its website as being subject to the next phase of bus lane enforcement in the city.
The council has launched a public consultation into its proposals for minor changes at the junction, saying:
In February 2013 Birmingham City Council’s Cabinet approved a city wide civil Bus Lane Enforcement (BLE) regime to be implemented on a phased basis, starting with the city centre where enforcement commenced in summer 2013. As part of the next phase, we are looking to introduce BLE measures at the junction of Belgrave Middleway with Longmore Street and Horton Square.
There is a bus gate situated at this junction allowing bus movements to and from the City Centre. The Rea Valley Cycle Route (NCN5) also crosses Belgrave Middleway at this location. Only buses, cycles and emergency vehicles are allowed through the bus gate.
According to the time logged on a series of still images from the taxi’s dashboard-mounted camera and accompanying a report on the incident on the Birmingham Mail’s website, the cyclists positioned themselves for at least 27 minutes in front of the vehicle to prevent it from moving straight on through the traffic lights.
The taxi driver involved, 42-year-old Abid Hussain, gave his version of events to the newspaper and claimed that inadequate signage and an inconsistent approach form the council as which bus lanes black cabs are permitted to use caused confusion for drivers.
The image from Google Street View above, assuming that the sign and road markings are unaltered since it was taken, suggests however that it is clear that only buses and bicycles are allowed to go straight on.
Mr Hussain said: “They [the cyclists] were a law unto themselves. I couldn’t move anywhere because of the sheer numbers.
‘‘These people on two wheels, who don’t even pay road tax, were acting like vigilantes.’’
Road tax was abolished in the 1930’s, as documented on Carlton Reid’s website, IPayRoadTax.com. Motorists now pay Vehicle Excise Duty, based on their vehicles’ emissions, with no payment required for some low-emission vehicles.
The taxi driver continued: ‘‘I’d picked up a lecturer from Aston University and was taking her to Kings Heath.
“I could see a gathering of cyclists in the road. They just blocked me off and said I couldn’t pass because it was for buses.
“I had nowhere to go and they were becoming increasingly aggressive. I was concerned that one of them would jump in front of the taxi and get hurt, so I stopped.
“My passenger told me not to speak to them and she was the one who called police.
“The police arrived and it all seemed calm. I tried to move around them but, as I was crawling along, one of them blocked me again and another came up the side and ripped off the wing mirror.’
“We are a public service. We are here to serve the community but we are being attacked.
‘‘Part of the problem is the city council and the inconsistency in road signage and rules for lanes. The council needs to decide whether Hackney Carriage drivers are included in public transport networks.’’
Comments from West Midlands Police, who were called to the scene at approximately 6.40pm on Monday, suggest that there is also confusion among officers about the bus lanes that Hackney Carriages are permitted to use.
A spokeswoman for the force told the Birmingham Mail: “Three police officers and a police community support officer responded to reports that a group of cyclists were blocking the path of a black cab driver.
“They were under the impression that he was not allowed to use the lane and the driver was saying that he could.
“Officers advised the group that they were causing an obstruction on the highway.
“The situation seemed to have been resolved, when one cyclist rode into the path of the driver who was moving away. A second cyclist broke off a wing mirror and rode off.
“The group refused to give details to officers at the scene.
“Officers are investigating a report of criminal damage and are examining CCTV.”
One cyclist who said she had taken part in Monday’s ride is Nazan Fennell, whose 13-year-old daughter Hope was killed by a lorry while cycling in November 2011.
Last month, the driver was jailed for six months for dangerous driving – as distinct from causing death by dangerous driving – with the court hearing that he had sent a series of text messages to his girlfriend in the time leading up to the collision, and had also deleted several messages afterwards.
Later in September, Hope’s mother staged a sit-down protest in front of a lorry during a ride in memory of her daughter.
Contacting the Birmingham Mail after Monday’s flash ride, Ms Fennell said: “This crossing is a vital link across the ring road for cyclists, but those cyclists’ lives are put at risk by other vehicles abusing this lane.
“The flash ride received strong support from passing pedestrians, cyclists and law-abiding motorists.
“Unfortunately a single taxi driver chose to block the entrance to the bus lane leading out of the city centre for over 30 minutes, and argued that he had the right to use the bus lane.
“Push Bikes is very disappointed that the first police officer to speak to this taxi driver was uncertain about the meaning of the clear signs at this crossing, and did not persuade the taxi driver to take the legal route out and argued that he had the right to use the bus lane.”
We have asked Push Bikes – founded in 1978 as the Birmingham Bicycling Campaign, changing its name a year later – for a statement on Monday’s incident, as well as whether Ms Fennell holds a position within the organisation and whether her comments reflect its views.
Ms Fennell added: ‘‘The message from Monday night is clear - our streets are made dangerous by a minority of bad drivers, and it is vitally important for the police and local authorities to punish drivers who think they are above the rules of the road.
‘‘Proper enforcement of regulations on highway infrastructure is vital to the success of Birmingham’s cycle revolution.’’
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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57 comments
Good on these guys for taking action! Taking photos or reporting illegal use of the bus lane would change nothing. Its only when people get annoyed that changes will be made.
There's too many people in this country who are too comfortable in their armchairs.
OK, direct action is imperfect and this action didn't go perfectly, but where are the police and traffic wardens these days?
Flash PEACEFUL protest rides I'd support from my screen, wilfull vandalism and hijacking gets NO SUPPORT WHAT-SO-EVER. It ain't helping our situation.
Reading this website, it does appear there are rather a lot of angry cyclist that need to chill out.
You're wrong. The signs and road markings quite clearly show that particular lane is "Bus Only". You're only allowed to ride in Bus lanes where they specifically have cycle symbols. Similarly, taxis are only allowed to use bus lanes with the word "Taxi" on them. The most common "bus lanes" are actually "Bus/Taxi/Cycle" lanes.
This is not the only location with a true "Bus only" lane, but they are relatively rare. There are even rarer occurances of "Taxi only" restrictions.
Don't go on a rant about people not knowing the law if you're then going to display that you're ignorant yourself.
As an aside, the design at the junction in question is bonkers unless that cycle lane is phased seperately to the buses, as on the other side of the junction there's no continuing cycle lane; rather a narrowing to a lane not wide enough for bus+bike.
There is however, a cycle lane next to it, which has its own lights, but while the phasing might be enough for people on bikes to out-accelerate a bus into the narrower road ahead, it may well not be enough to out-accelerate the typical hard-accelerating Birmingham taxi.
That's quite aside from taxis making a movement which it appears is not possible without abusing the bus-only lane, so presumably this abuse also increases the numbers of taxis mixing with riders on the NCN5 north of the junction?
Well yes, there is the cycle lane alongside the bus lane- but Sway seemed to think that becuase it isn't a motorway cycles are (lgeally) allowed to use the bus side.
Taxis aren't allowed at all in there, and from other sources apparently the taxi could have easily backed out very early and taken a legal route.
Also, not talking to the cyclists (at the behest of the passenger) was probably not a great move. Though he'd probably have just ranted about "road tax". Doesn't excuse any damage.
Another thought: is there actually a bus service using that facility? Surely if a bus had come along the cyclists would have let it through, so if early evening there's no bus for 27 minutes, I'm wondering what the point of the bus lane is.
What did you expect? The guy has never been on a CM nor any other kind of advocacy ride, yet is always one of the first on each thread moaning about how others are damaging his image of being a cyclist.
The guy just comes over as a joke.
What few on this thread have asked themselves is why a substantial group of cyclists felt it was necessary to do something about infringements by taxis into these bus/cycle lanes. You do not get a large number of people to perform direct action at the drop of a hat, without good reason.
What if the action was to stop any other kind of illegal activity? Would anyone who has expressed a displeasure about these peoples action, have an issue with that?
I dont get this at all. It falls into the "action like this gives all cyclists a bad name" bullshit, AFAIC.
While I do not advocate smashing up property for the fun of it, I am very supportive of people who destroy things that are used as tools to kill, oppress, or destroy the environment/endanger the safety of others. If that taxi driver was revving his engine and trying to force his way through the cyclists, I would support them smashing the fuck out of his vehicle. People ALWAYS trump property, especially if that property is used to against people.
That said, smashing his wing mirror while he was sitting there then dodging out is just 'rebel without a clue'.
Dear Taxi Driver,
Act like it then, instead of choosing which bits of the rules of the road you want to follow, based on whether it inconveniences you or not.
Sums up my thoughts.
I have found that taxi drivers take more liberties than most drivers. It's as if they feel their trade allows them to somehow bend/break more rules more often than everyone else. It's time they were told that it won't wash.
And of course don't forget the journalist's need for a story - how an incident is communicated makes a HUGE difference to how it is perceived by those who were not present.
While others may not share GKam's views about Critical Mass etc I don't think you need to abuse him for having them. Equally Keith, calling someone a moron isn't helping.
No I just used motorways as a widely known example of a road where cyclists can't ride.
Would a cyclist break the law by cycling on this carriageway rather than the cycle path? Well; in this case the road markings are correct for a Bus Only Lane but these must be accompanied by the appropriate sign at the start of the lane which, if present, I can't see in the picture - if the sign is not indeed present then the lane cannot meet the requirements of its TRO, or does not have a valid TRO, either case making the restriction invalid (in which case the taxi itself was also unlikely to actually be breaking the law!).
I do agree completely with you that the design of this junction is bonkers.
I also completely stand by by points about on road cycle lanes and about driver education.
In addition I think that whoever damaged the car should be sought and held responsible, it was not a justified action and it helps to antagonise rather than to solve anything.
Shay
They're professional drivers though, innit?
Zanf. You need to look at yourself and think a little harder. What a Wally.
Vandalising a taxi just for doing something slightly wrong is wrong in itself. I really does not help. People like you are the ones that should be arrested. The taxi drivers need educating to cyclists needs and clearer signage.
Go and re-read my comment and allow it to digest before you make another ignorant reply. If you're having trouble then acquire the assistance of an appropriate adult to spell it out for you.
Making any comment with phrases such as "people like you..." just makes you look like a generalising idiot wanker.
I used to live in Hong Kong and ride with a group of locals who were not afraid to surround and have "frank and open discussions" with drivers of vehicles who put us in danger or made stupid manoeuvres. Not sure of the long-term effect on individual drivers but they certainly drove off rather cautiously.
I used to live in Hong Kong and ride with a group of locals who were not afraid to surround and have "frank and open discussions" with drivers of vehicles who put us in danger or made stupid manoeuvres. Not sure of the long-term effect on individual drivers but they certainly drove off rather cautiously.
+1
I used to get really annoyed at people driving cars in bus lanes when I was commuting up to North London. One of my favourite tricks was to slow down and stop and take a photo of them. People got really annoyed at this. But damaging a vehicle is a bad idea.
Passive resistance makes a better point.
Zanf. Clearly pondlife. no further comments.
quoth Guyz2010:
"wilfull vandalism and hijacking gets NO SUPPORT WHAT-SO-EVER. It ain't helping our situation.
Reading this website, it does appear there are rather a lot of angry cyclist that need to chill out."
Seems a bit premature to decide it was willful vandalism (it could have just been an accident - why take the taxi-driver's account as gospel?), and I completely fail to see how it was 'hijacking' (did they climb in the taxi and drive off with it?).
Also - why do people need to chill out?
Sometimes anger is an entirely appropriate response. Its an emotion that evolution has bequeathed us for a reason.
Me, I confine my anger in relation to motorists to silent fuming and inaudible mutterings, and in general I'm more into despondent pessimism and cynicism than blockading taxis, but I don't see its your place to tell others what they should feel. There is quite a lot to be angry about.
Personally i am constantly annoyed at the way motorists gets away with ignoring the law on a everyday basis, and hence am not surprised if people decide to play vigilante. With regard to bus lanes, the worst is when a motorist decides to use them as a special undertaking lane to escape a queue of traffic, and suddenly cuts into it at speed, right behind me as if I'm not even there, forcing me to swerve to the kerb.
But if the account is accurate (though post-plebgate in particular, is there any reason to take the police version as automatically accurate?) then that action in particular was a stupid thing to do.
The thing is, that when a huge number of people do things that are 'slightly wrong' on a very regular basis, it can produce anger disproportionate to any one single instance. Especially when the norm is for them to get away with it.
Look at the harsh sentences handed out for even minor thefts during the riots. Its the backdrop of anger at more general lawlessness that leads to individual cases being treated more harshly than they might appear to merit. That's human nature.
As for 'educating' the taxi-driver - isn't that what this group were attempting to do?
'The cyclists were taking part in a flash ride organised via Facebook to urge Birmingham City Council to enforce rules...'
Aggressive actions like this never work to 'urge' anyone to do anything. They just get people's backs up and make them much more likely NOT to do what they're being 'urged' to do. While I sympathise with the cyclists feelings, being one myself and not a driver or taxi user, this just spoils the campaign, loses respect for cyclists, and is likely to increase aggression from drivers, making things even less safe for cyclists.
Perhaps if all the police officers and PCSO's were not issuing tickets to cyclists with no lights they may have been around to help the poor unfortunate taxi driver by giving him a ticket for not obeying the road signs??
They are being "urged' to obey the law just as everyone else has to. Direct action campaigns are in fact very effective and most of the legislation that protects your job, statutory holidays and enforces health and safety at your workplace, as well as a vast amount of other protections, has come about from it.
Which 'campaign' would that be? The one passively asking for space, or the recent farcical one asking for everyone to be nice to each other?
Exactly what respect is going to be lost when no respect is currently being shown?
People are being killed daily on the streets because the attitude is that the car is king, so this attitude of not wanting to upset anyone is banal, counter-productive and at best, victim blaming.
There's some rubbish above. Sometimes you can ask politely until you're blue in the face, but sometimes increasing the pressure with direct action works, as long as your desired action is the easiest way for the local government to stop it, rather than having people arrested.
Its no surprise to see such 'vigilante' action given that law enforcement on our roads is so limited and inconsistent. I suspect we will see more and more of this type of thing in the not-too-distant future.
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