Edinburgh Trams has condemned the “dangerous and irresponsible” behaviour of a teenage cyclist who was filmed ‘tram surfing’ on the Scottish capital’s Princes Street at the weekend.
The footage, shot on Saturday evening by a passenger on a nearby bus, shows the youngster holding onto the tram as it pulls him along, reports the Edinburgh Evening News.
He then waits for a friend to catch him up on his bike before smiling at the camera, giving a wave and making off.
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Lea Harrison, Managing Director of Edinburgh Trams, said: “Tram surfing of any kind is both dangerous and irresponsible and can have life-changing consequences.”
“If you are travelling with us and see this behaviour we urge you to contact a member of our on board team,” he continued.
“Alternatively, the Customer Help Point button located on all tram stops will connect you directly to our Control Room who will be able to deal with this matter immediately.”
The passenger who captured the footage on her mobile phone said: “I was horrified – if he’d gone under the wheels, it would’ve cut him in half.
“I heard the bus driver sound his horn and started filming because I thought he’d let go but he just got cocky and started waving.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland commented: “All road users have a responsibility to ensure their behaviour does not put themselves, or others, at risk of harm.
“Failure to do so, could have very serious consequences.
“Anyone who wishes to report inappropriate road traffic behaviour should contact police immediately.”
13 thoughts on “Video: “Dangerous and irresponsible” tram-surfing teen cyclist filmed in Edinburgh”
The cyclist is in the link to
The cyclist is in the link to Edinburgh news.
Conflation and exaggeration.
Conflation and exaggeration. First we have an almost story, in the link to the Edinburgh Evening News, of a teenager on a bike holding on to the side of a stationary tram. The tram doesn’t actually move while he’s holding it on to it and he lets go before it moves off. Second we have a video of a bloke actually ‘tram surfing’, perching on the back of a moving tram which probably isn’t in Edinburgh. Crucially, he has no bike. So where’s the story?
Bmblbzzz wrote:
Yup.
Trams going to Malin Bridge are Sheffield trams
.
Actual evidence would be nice
Actual evidence would be nice.
The slowest of slow news days
The slowest of slow news days at road.cc.
What a lazy little shit. Use
What a lazy little shit. Use your blood legs!
Why is it that somebody
Why is it that somebody posing no danger to anybody else is described as dangerous, yet motorists who kill people are often not considered dangerous?
Just as the tram clears the
Just as the tram clears the traffic light it changes from green to amber. But the car driver is chasing so close behind in a bid to capture his video that he has no time to react and sails through on amber with no hesitation.
Suppose instead it had been the person falling from the tram – would the driver’s reactions have been any quicker? By strange coincidence the radio commentary says “… accidentally run over…” at that very moment.
I’d say this was evidence of reckless driving – having identified a real hazard to human life the driver acted only to increase the danger. And a xenophobe to boot!
I was assuming a cyclist
I was assuming a cyclist ‘tram surfing’ meant he was cycling along the top of the tram while it was in motion (and perhaps shooting off the rear of it and ending with a trackstand?). This story dissapoints.
FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:
Now that would have been worth seeing!
Edinburgh Evening News –
Edinburgh Evening News – “Shocked shoppers and festival goers watched as the young lad is pulled along trackside before riding off with a pal on the pavement.”
Really? They all look to be ignoring everything at the end of that video and going about their daily business.
I did more dangerous things on my Raleigh Budgie at the age of six, over homemade ramps made out of bricks and a plank of wood.
Looks like the wrong video
Looks like the wrong video road.cc – certainly different to the one on the EEN link…
Read this in the context of
Read this in the context of Edinburgh Trams wanting to deflect criticism from the danger that they pose to cyclists. Most interesting part is that it helps show which way the EEN goes when it has to choose between its hatred of cyclists and its hatred of trams.