{"id":306232,"date":"2025-11-25T16:18:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/306232\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T16:18:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T16:18:10","slug":"drivers-hate-being-told-they-cant-go-anywhere-they-desire-phone-driver-blasts-cyclist-for-ignoring-million-pound-bike-lane-branded-useless-by-locals-does","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/306232\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cDrivers hate being told they can\u2019t go anywhere they desire\u201d: Phone driver blasts cyclist for ignoring \u201cmillion-pound bike lane\u201d branded useless by locals; Does the Tour de France care about nature? Visma food crimes; Wout Can Aert + more on the live blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Right, I reckon next month, instead of Christmas cards, we start sending out copies of our \u2018Why don\u2019t cyclists use the cycle lanes?\u2019 guide<\/a> by post.<\/p>\n

Because some people clearly aren\u2019t getting the message. Goodness, this must be what evangelists feel like at this time of year. Anyway\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s currently all kicking off on the \u2018Spotted: Quedgeley, Kingsway, Hardwicke\u2019 Facebook group (what do you mean, you aren\u2019t a member?), where a relatively new cycle lane in Gloucestershire has attracted hundreds of comments and sparked quite the debate \u2013 after a van driver took a snap of a cyclist riding on the road beside it.<\/p>\n

\"Driver<\/p>\n

\u201cMillion-pound plus bike lane in Staverton and the cyclist still uses the road,\u201d the van driver posted on the group (hopefully not from behind the wheel, shortly after he took the photo).<\/p>\n

For some context, the protected bike lane in question was completed in January 2023, as part of Gloucestershire County Council\u2019s \u2018Gloucester to Cheltenham Cycle Improvements Scheme\u2019, funded by the government\u2019s Active Travel Fund. The Staverton section marked the fourth of the project\u2019s five phases, with the final section, at Pirton Lane, still to be completed.<\/p>\n

According to the local authority, the six-mile-long cycleway \u201cwill help cyclists of all ages and abilities to travel safely, encouraging people to choose cycling and walking over using their cars for work, school or leisure, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"B4063<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s fair to say the usual driving suspects weren\u2019t happy with one cyclist ignoring the big, green slab of cycling infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t hold up traffic if you use the cycle path!\u201d wrote Ian Miller in the comments, while Mark Cox urged the driver to \u201cput the bumper on his back wheel\u201d. Oh, he\u2019s hard.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Kutsal wrote: \u201cCyclists are the god of the roads\u2026 either you will worship or be an atheist while on the road\u2026 I prefer to be the atheist one when I am on the road\u2026\u201d Whatever that means.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a cycle path is available, it should be law [that] it MUST be used by said cyclist,\u201d added Dean Chew.<\/p>\n

>\u00a0“A legal road user using a road in a legal manner \u2014 how infuriating”: The internet shuts down impatient driver complaining about queue behind cyclist<\/a><\/p>\n

Though \u2013 surprisingly, since this is Facebook we\u2019re talking about \u2013 not everyone was fully on board with Dean\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n

For instance, Mark Llewellyn said: \u201cAs a cyclist, 100 per cent agree with this, and likewise the same law should apply for any motorist who parks their car in a cycle path or who straddles a pedestrian walkway with their car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThing is under the same logic cars shouldn\u2019t be allowed to go and rat run back streets and they should be restricted to more main roads as it disrupts neighbourhoods with more traffic,\u201d added Bryce Elwine.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut motorists hate low traffic neighbourhoods and being told they can\u2019t drive anywhere they desire. It\u2019s broken logic.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0Why don’t cyclists use cycle lanes?<\/a><\/p>\n

Some cyclists also pointed out that not all cycle lanes are, in fact, created equal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing with bike lanes, when they cross junctions you can\u2019t see what\u2019s approaching half the time as there are hedges etc in way, so using the road is a lot easier,\u201d said Jason Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re coming up to a junction here,\u201d noted Bex Mountford. \u201cThey could well be on the road because they want to turn right and it\u2019s a lot quicker to join the road than have to wait at the crossing possibly for two sets of lights if it\u2019s not crossable in one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d join the road if I was on my own but use the path if I was with my kids. Cycle paths aren\u2019t for every journey same with driving and motorways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it fit for purpose?\u201d asked Paul Stephens. \u201cMost are not in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"B4063<\/p>\n

According to local cyclist Jamie Smallman, Staverton\u2019s cycle lane fits the latter bill, thanks to its odd \u201cgravel top layer\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know they laid the wrong type of surface?\u201d Smallman asked a driver in the comments. \u201cIf you have a hybrid or road bike it\u2019s useless.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s designed for kids\u2019 mountain bikes. The surface is loose stones, it\u2019ll shred a road bike tyre. No cyclist was consulted when they chose the surface type.\u201d<\/p>\n

And finally, a few other cyclists took to the comments to point out that there was only one road user breaking the law in that photo.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you decide to use your phone whilst driving to take the photo,\u201d noted Chris Barber.<\/p>\n

And finally, Mark Flower asked the driver: \u201cDo you want some cheese with that whine?\u201d Enough said\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Right, I reckon next month, instead of Christmas cards, we start sending out copies of our \u2018Why don\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306233,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-306232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}