I am writing to complain about the careless use of the roads in Leicestershire.
Last Tuesday, at around 4pm, I was cycling along a cycle route on Aylestone Road. The route had a bike symbol clearly painted on the ground.
As I approached the destination between house numbers 540 and 544, a woman parked her car near the pavement, literally on the route.
As I approached, she was talking to a pedestrian and her left indicator was on.
As the pedestrian left, the driver didn't move and kept her left indicator on.
I tried to tell her she was blocking a cycle route, but she made this excuse stating that she was waiting for somebody.
There were also double yellow lines there.
This attitude is not acceptable. The driver parked in a clearly restricted area. Not only is she breaking the Highway Code, but she is also breaking the law.
I have seen this happen several times; drivers parking in cycle routes and on double yellow lines, blocking cyclists and causing congestion for other road users.
If this occurs, the driver could either cause a traffic jam or a very serious accident; a road user may swerve to the right in order to get past and, because this leads to him partially crossing the middle line, collide into another vehicle driving on the right-hand side of the road.
Another reason why parking on a cycle route is a problem is because cyclists often use the road for very good reason – the pavements are often restricted and it's not always safe for cyclists to use them, especially when there's a large number of pedestrians using the pavements.
The cycle routes are used to improve the spacing. When I approached the driver, did she expect me to swerve past her and get myself injured?
The majority of drivers take the no-parking-on-zig-zag-lines more seriously than parking in cycle routes. This is not good enough. They need to take both rules equally into account.
I, for one, believe this act is just as dangerous, ignorant and, frankly, extremely selfish.
Even though I have yet to receive a full driving licence, I never ignore the Highway Code. I take all aspects of using the road very seriously and so should all other road users.
I'm not trying to blame anybody in particular for road misuse. I just believe, like many other people, that not everybody seems to be following the Highway Code, which they should've taken into account since they first received their licences, hence the issue of parking in restricted areas, i.e. cycle routes.
Last Tuesday, at around 4pm, I was cycling along a cycle route on Aylestone Road. The route had a bike symbol clearly painted on the ground.
As I approached the destination between house numbers 540 and 544, a woman parked her car near the pavement, literally on the route.
As I approached, she was talking to a pedestrian and her left indicator was on.
As the pedestrian left, the driver didn't move and kept her left indicator on.
I tried to tell her she was blocking a cycle route, but she made this excuse stating that she was waiting for somebody.
There were also double yellow lines there.
This attitude is not acceptable. The driver parked in a clearly restricted area. Not only is she breaking the Highway Code, but she is also breaking the law.
I have seen this happen several times; drivers parking in cycle routes and on double yellow lines, blocking cyclists and causing congestion for other road users.
If this occurs, the driver could either cause a traffic jam or a very serious accident; a road user may swerve to the right in order to get past and, because this leads to him partially crossing the middle line, collide into another vehicle driving on the right-hand side of the road.
Another reason why parking on a cycle route is a problem is because cyclists often use the road for very good reason – the pavements are often restricted and it's not always safe for cyclists to use them, especially when there's a large number of pedestrians using the pavements.
The cycle routes are used to improve the spacing. When I approached the driver, did she expect me to swerve past her and get myself injured?
The majority of drivers take the no-parking-on-zig-zag-lines more seriously than parking in cycle routes. This is not good enough. They need to take both rules equally into account.
I, for one, believe this act is just as dangerous, ignorant and, frankly, extremely selfish.
Even though I have yet to receive a full driving licence, I never ignore the Highway Code. I take all aspects of using the road very seriously and so should all other road users.
I'm not trying to blame anybody in particular for road misuse. I just believe, like many other people, that not everybody seems to be following the Highway Code, which they should've taken into account since they first received their licences, hence the issue of parking in restricted areas, i.e. cycle routes.
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