Last weekend’s RideLondon route went past Kristian Sturt’s house. At about 6.15pm on the day of the ride, he heard swearing, shouting and beeping outside. Despite the road being closed, motorists decided they’d had enough of waiting and went through the barricade, arguing with the young marshal who tried to stop them.
Sturt said that roads in the local area were advertised as being closed for about a month leading up to the event. On the days leading up to it, there were signs every 200 metres.
Roads were supposed to be closed between 7am and 7pm, but by 6.20pm some motorists had grown so frustrated that they decided to take matters into their own hands.
In Sturt’s video, a man can be seen angrily throwing cones out of the way while the marshal retrieves them. Whenever there’s a gap, motorists drive through – even if it’s on the wrong side of the road. One of them is a driving instructor.
A bystander helps the marshal gather the cones and once they’re back in place, the cone-throwing man returns in his car, pulling up on the wrong side of the road.
He is adamant that the road should have opened at 6pm and takes it upon himself to start removing the cones again. “All the other roads are open,” he says with some conviction.
As bystanders attempt to back up the marshal, other drivers join the argument. (We can only presume that robust debate continued until 7pm when the road was officially due to reopen.)
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Highlight of this year's Ride London for me was the lady - accompanying two young children - who booed and shouted 'arrogant' as we rode through Sheen on the approach to Richmond Park. This was of course hugely outweighed by the wonderful and greatly appreciated support and encouragement everyone received from other spectators throughout the day, but if only this one day out of 365 had caused even more inconvenience to her.
“One of them is a driving instructor”.
He should not be allowed to continue in that job.
Often some of the worst offenders ime
Presumably there's some sort of official paperwork authorising the road closure? Couldn't they just send the footage to someone official and get the selfish twunts fined or something for endangering cyclists?
I knew it was all down to middle-aged white men. Cyclists would have it easy if not for them......
Broken Britain at it's finest.
Selfish cunts rule.
Half ton car?! I drive a Micra and that weighs a ton. Some big cars weigh north of two tons these days.
Should have taken the key out of the red Mercedes and thrown it in the bush. That would have helped enforce the road closure.
Cyclists don't pay taxes!
All car drivers are rapists and murderers!
See I too can make up unfounded bollocks and spout it.
Fucking wankpuffins!
Death cage driving gammons one and all.
I fail to see the relevance of their facial colouration (assuming that's what you meant by gammons) and/or high blood pressure conditions.
"Death cage driving arseholes one and all" works better as some of them might have been female.
Because late middle aged white men with ruddy faces are always the most tedious bores mouthing off about "road tax" or whatever garbage they're on about. They're the ones that aggressively lobby against segregated cycle infrastructure and insist on driving their half ton death cage to the shops to buy their copy of the Daily Heil and 2L bottle of blue top milk every day.
Well, that opinion of yours sounds quite bigotted to me.
In my experience, bad, self-important drivers come in all sexes, races, colours and flavours.
Still, if you want to go on a divisive political rant, then carry on.
(Blue top milk?)
No need to be bigoted - anyone is capable of being an a-hole regardless of age or race.
And that Mercedes probably weghs closer to two tonnes.
Either way, we can all agree that these half-wits need to get a grip.
Some of my best friends are middle aged men with ruddy faces, etc...
Steady on old chap, I make my own yoghurt out of blue top milk.
Bugger. I watched it. Thats my misanthropy levels topped up again
Arseholes.
That is all.
Wot no squirrels?
Boo.
Brexit cutbacks, I'm afraid.
Naaa. A-holes are useful. This lot fall quite clearly into the tonsil category. IMO of course.
"Tonsils" doesn't have the same ring to it, though.
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