What could be London’s most selfish cyclists have been caught on video ignoring a ‘cyclists dismount’ sign on the pavement as they race past pedestrians.
Footage exposes multiple riders skipping past roadworks by pedalling onto a path that many pedestrians are walking on in Islington, north London.
The Twitter user who uploaded the video tagged the Met Police in their post, asking whether the force would take any action.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 16, a total of seven cyclists were filmed over just 22 seconds narrowly avoiding pedestrians and blatantly ignoring a large red sign clearly reading ‘cyclists dismount’, as they tried to circumnavigate a closure on Clerkenwell Road.
It was claimed that throughout the the day that ‘hundreds’ of cyclists did exactly the same, and refused to dismount, instead chosing to cycle along the narrow pavement.
ADD VIDEO: https://twitter.com/IslingtonResid3/status/1658424029726883840
What could be London’s most selfish cyclists have been caught on video ignoring a ‘cyclists dismount’ sign on the pavement as they race past pedestrians
Footage exposes multiple riders skipping past roadworks by heading cycling onto a path which many pedestrians are walking in Islington, central London
The pavement has been narrowed by barriers to accommodate the roadworks on Clerkenwell Road
A Twitter user who posted the video said: ‘Clerkenwell Road’s pavement cyclists unphased by the “Cyclists Dismount” sign.
‘Clerkenwell Road’s pavement cyclists unphased by the “Cyclists Dismount” sign.
‘@MetCC Please come and enforce this. Literally hundreds (possibly over a thousand in a day) of cyclists riding on narrow pavements with the peak in the morning commute. Others going contraflow.’
The pavement has been narrowed by barriers to accommodate the roadworks on Clerkenwell Road, which has a signposted diversion pointing away from the pavement.
Further down the pavement is a blind corner, which some people have said could lead to an accident with a bicycle rider.
One Twitter user posted a photo of the corner and commented: ‘This is the blind corner our entitled friends who couldn’t possibly compromise their speed or have any regard for road signs or safety of others are headed down.
‘This will end with someone and their bike flying over fence – literally.’
The pavement has been narrowed by barriers to accommodate the roadworks on Clerkenwell Road, which has a signposted diversion pointing away from the pavement
Further down the pavement is a blind corner, which some people have said could lead to an accident with a bicycle rider.
During one part of the video, two cyclists weave between two pedestrians and the ‘cyclists dismount’ sign in order to mount the pavement.
While ‘cyclists dismount’ signs are not themselves legally enforceable, in this case the riders are breaking the Highway Code by cycling on the pavement, which is reserved for pedestrians.
Rule 64 of the code simply states: ‘You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.’
Department for Transport data previously revealed that 2,472 pedestrians were injured in crashes involving a bicycle between 2016 and 2021. In that period there were 771 serious injuries and 15 deaths.
In April selfish bikers were caught on camera repeatedly ignoring pedestrians at one of London’s many ‘dangerous’ floating bus stops, which force passengers to take a ‘leap of faith’ through a cycle highway.
Footage shows riders of bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters refusing to stop as pedestrians try to board and alight buses, which are separated from the stop by a cycle lane – and campaigners have hit out at their reckless behaviour.
The Highway Code states: ‘Cyclists should give way to pedestrians on shared use cycle tracks’ and that they ‘should always take care when passing pedestrians, especially children, older or disabled people, and allow them plenty of room’. It adds, bikers should: ‘Always be prepared to slow down and stop if necessary’.
This is around six years after the tragic death of Kim Briggs who was crashed into by a cyclist.
‘Callous’ cyclist Charlie Alliston – who showed ‘no remorse’ after killing a mother-of-two while riding an illegal bike – was handed an 18-month sentence.
He was travelling at 18mph on an Olympic-style bike with no front brakes when he crashed into 44-year-old Kim Briggs as she crossed the road on her lunch break.
A fast cyclist refusing to stop for a woman trying to cross the cycle highway from the bus to the pavement at the shared bus stop boarder on Lea Bridge Road, in Waltham Forest, north-east London on March 29
A man riding an electric unicycle at breakneck speeds down the cycle highway
Six years ago ‘callous’ cyclist Charlie Alliston (left) – who showed ‘no remorse’ after killing mother-of-two Kim Briggs (right), 44, while riding an illegal bike – was handed an 18-month sentence
Charlie Alliston was travelling at 18mph on an Olympic-style fixed-wheel track bike
Former McDonald’s worker, courier and scaffolder Alliston smashed into the HR executive with his ‘fixie’ bike in Old Street, London in February 2016.
Mrs Briggs suffered catastrophic head injuries in the collision and died in hospital a week later.
Cycling has soared in popularity since the pandemic and Sadiq Khan has pushed for a rapid expansion in the number of cycle highways. But cyclists have been accused of endangering pedestrians by refusing to stop where pavements and cycle lanes meet.
Tensions between cyclists, pedestrians and motorists arguing over road space have been rising though as more cycle lanes though pavements and roads forces people to share space.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12124853/Video-exposes-seven-selfish-London-cyclists-ignoring-dismount-sign.html
