This piece of ‘not just questionable, but incorrect (according to the Highway Code)’ driving today comes from London’s Cycleway 4, with the footage captured by cyclist Greg and shared on social media.
In the video, a cab driver can be seen making a right turn across the cycle lane, despite a No right turn sign on the intersection.
As Greg turns around and approaches the junction, another cab driver, this time making a left turn, decides to pass the bus driver who was waiting to give way to cyclists (although with the front section of the bus was already on the Cycleway) and then make the turn on the wrong side of the road, only meant for oncoming traffic, instead of waiting behind the bus.
Greg wrote: “Some London Taxi drivers have zero respect for people cycling along #Cycleway4 and that left turning large vehicles like buses are doing the right thing by abiding by the give way rule as seen by the dashed lines and letting cyclists pass safely. These cabs are simply impatient.”
The video has generated lots of discussion on social media, with Ian condemning the the cabbies’ driving, saying: “Zero respect for traffic law. That's a great way to get people run over — wrong side of a traffic island.”
Another person commented: “London’s finest? Surely not.”
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Meanwhile, there was some debate around whether the bus driver’s behaviour was acceptable or not, with some people suggesting that since the bus was already across the cycle lane, it might be better to let the bus go, but others disagreeing by saying that the driver could’ve “bullied” their way into the turn but remained unsuccessful in completing it.
“It’s not helping the first bus is already over the cycle way and STOPPED and cyclists keeps going In front of the bus holding it up even more causing a blockage and backing up traffic. Literally let the bus go and avoid the blockage,” wrote one person.
However, Greg replied: “It's not a blockage, it's an obligatory Give Way that is a MUST in the Highway Code backed by legislation.”
Another Twitter user Ady commented: “The bus driver probably bullied his way into that position and the cyclists were showing their frustration. Why should the cyclists give way when they have the priority? It is a poorly designed junction to be honest but so are the majority of afterthought cycle lanes.”
We’ve seen a number of driving transgressions lately on similar Cycleway junctions in London. Just a few weeks ago, a cyclist bemoaned the fact that while the driver decided to wait for the cyclist in front of him to make their turn, but completely ignored them, cutting across on the CS7.
They wrote: “There’s a certain type of drive who (presumably) sees a cyclist go by in the bike lane and then thinks, “well it's entirely impossible that any other cyclists come along so I can just pull across without looking”… All whilst indicating too late and failing to look or give way.”
Back in May, drivers in Shadwell found the C3 Cycleway along Cable Street quite a fine way to avoid all the traffic jam, with road.cc reader John sharing an egregious clip with us.
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The guilty parties included an assortment of motorists, from cabbies to professional van drivers, and even driving instructors. “As you can see not only were the drivers in the bike lane, some were even refusing to give way,” wrote John. In fact, they were not just refusing to give way, but actively revving the engine and trying to intimidate cyclists into backing down and letting them through.
What do you think about this recent incident from C4? Should cyclists have stopped and let the bus driver past or should the cab driver have waiting behind the bus and not made an illegal turn?