Cyclists bemoan missing bollards and poor layout as footage shows motorist driving down a cycle lane

If drivers parking their cars in the cycle lane was getting a bit too commonplace, it looks like some have found a new hobby: driving down a cycle lane...

A cyclist has shared a video on Reddit showing a motorist driving down the cycle lane on Gorbals Street in Glasgow, writing: "Get a load of this walloper driving down the cycle lane!"

They added: "Not really sure how the driver missed the markings, but I saw them shoot into there from the junction at like 30 mph just before I joined on. Not really sure if this should be reported."

> "Traffic on road? Just use a cycle lane": Motorist facing court after speeding through segregated bike lane

Get a load of this walloper driving down the cycle lane on Gorbals St!
byu/MrC4meron inglasgow

The cyclist added that they had recorded the car "up close" and captured the registration plate, with many others advising them to report it to Police Scotland and the local council.

"Please fire a quick email to your councillors with a link to this if you can. Lots of reports of cars driving down this recently and a couple of near misses with cyclists since a bollard went missing at the Cumberland St end of the path. Needs to be reinstated pronto," replied one person.

How someone doesn't notice they're on a cycle lane with all the signs and markings though and doesn't try to reverse or leave the route immediately I don't know.

The cyclist, through a later comment, informed that they had decided to report the incident, adding that the road next to the bike path is a bus lane so there could be a possibility that the driver's actions were intentional.

road.cc has contacted Police Scotland for a comment.

"What's dangerous is that the driver continued at like 30 mph down the lane long after entering (and probably realising they were in the wrong). Very easily could have been an accident there," the cyclist said.

One person commented: "I've seen this a lot on this cycle lane. It's a badly laid-out junction. No bollards make it too easy for motorists to mistake it for a [motor traffic] lane, then once your on it there's no way off unless you mount the pavement. One night, I saw a massive Aldi delivery truck driving down it, f*** knows how he managed to turn on to it."

> "I don't care that I'm in the bike lane, just go around me!": Note on car parked in a cycle lane leaves cyclists dumbfounded and angry

Other people were in agreement of the poor layout of the bike lane, with one user saying that it was the perfect example of why design is more important placing individual responsibility. "Lots of the arguments against segregated cycle lanes are because it's down to the cyclist to just cycle well in traffic but the reality is you need to design infrastructure for the lowest common denominator," they wrote.

Another Reddit user said: "You want a design that keeps everyone separate to prevent the worst driver from doing harm. You also want a design that allows the most vulnerable person to cycle safely (think a 10-year-old cycling to school, or an elderly person cycling to the shops)."

Comment
byu/MrC4meron from discussion
inglasgow

> “Lawless” motorists driving in cycle lane force council to reinstall bollards – just weeks after they were removed

In recent times, road.cc has seen and reported on multiple such incidents of drivers using cycle lanes due to a lack of proper signage and segregation. Last year in Edinburgh, just weeks after bollards from a cycle lane were removed, councillors decided to reinstall them after criticising the "depressing lawlessness" of motorists who continuously drove down the then-unprotected cycle lane.

A report by the council’s transport committee found that residents had witnessed "multiple vehicles regularly encroaching into the cycleway", while the removal of the bollards had "made parents feel unable to safely cycle with their children".

However, sometimes barriers have also proved to be not enough as we saw in July last year, when shocking footage showed a driver speeding through a segregated bike lane to avoid motor traffic in Coventry, sparking online outrage amongst cyclists and other active travel advocates.

West Midlands Police later confirmed that the driver had been identified and was facing court for his actions, with West Midlands Cycling & Walking Commissioner Adam Tranter slamming such behaviour which could have "catastrophic consequences".