This is the terrifying moment a blind man was confused by a wide cycle lane and walked out into the middle of a London road.
The blind man, called Andrew, was filmed getting off a bus on Chiswick High Road in west London and having to cross a dual cycle lane.
He used his cane to find a curb and tried to get onto the sidewalk, but he started walking into a side street.
Just as he was about to hit the road, a person on a bicycle passed by.
The man then began tapping his cane to find a streetlight, and the woman helped him safely cross the bike lane.
The man they were meeting shared the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote: “The blind man I was meeting tried to get off the bus at the Chiswick High Road stop, which he used to use before the cycle lanes were built.
“The bus was second at the stop.” He became disoriented and ended up walking into the driveway. He stopped using this bus stop.
Have you ever had a near miss with your bicycle due to a “floating bus stop”? Email: [email protected]
“I’ve lived in the area since 1987 and the local M&S food store is across the road,” Andrew said in a second video.
“For years I used this stop. It was a traditional stop. You get off the bus, go out onto the sidewalk, walk along the left for about 100 meters, cross the pedestrian crossing, turn right, then , [walk] 100 yards further on you will find M&S. So it was easy to use.
“But they redesigned it a few years ago and now it’s even more unwieldy, in fact, I tend not to use it anymore.”
This is an example of a “floating bus stop” where passengers must cross the bike lane to get on and off the bus.
“Water bus stops” (or “shared bus borders” (SUBB) in TfL’s terminology) have cycle lanes between the bus stop and the road, allowing passengers to avoid an influx of cyclists in order to board the bus. There must be.
Cycle lanes have become even more prevalent in the capital since the pandemic, when London Mayor Sadiq Khan installed 62 miles of cycle lanes in just 12 months.
One such bus stop, installed in Camden in 2020, sparked anger from commuters, with one describing it as an “accident waiting to happen”.
Despite concerns raised by NFBUK, Mr Khan refused to suspend the development of the water bus station.
Someone commented on this video: “Isn’t there even a pretend crosswalk across that bike lane?” Very dangerous. ‘
In response, the poster replied, “Yes, but I didn’t know where on the island it was.” It was the second bus. ”
The bike lanes use not only regular push bikes, but also electric scooters and e-bikes, which can reach speeds of 25 miles per hour, depending on the model.
Road regulations state that “cyclists should yield to pedestrians on shared cycle paths” and that “cyclists should always use caution and give sufficient space when passing pedestrians, especially children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.” It is stipulated that there is.
It adds that cyclists should “always be prepared to slow down and stop if necessary.”
Last April, The footage was shared with MailOnline by the British Federation of Blind People (NFBUK) and features the charity’s chairman, Andrew Hodgson, who is himself visually impaired.
In the video, a cyclist on a cargo bike and another cyclist right behind him can be seen approaching a bus stop at high speed.
Mr Hodgson only became aware of the incident after the incident, as he could not see the cyclist passing him, after his colleague Sarah Gayton, NFBUK street access campaign co-ordinator, told him about it.
Mr Hodgson said he feared he might have been injured if he had decided to step forward or backward, or that an accident could have occurred if he had stuck out his cane.
He said the cargo bike driver was probably driving very dangerously and could have been “moved down” if he wasn’t in the right position.
He advised both cyclists involved to “be more careful and keep an eye out for vulnerable pedestrians” like himself and the woman in a wheelchair.
But Mr Hodgson also slammed the dangerous bus stop design as “not fit for purpose”, adding: “It is actually completely inaccessible”. This kind of design needs to be scrapped, the designs already in place need to be removed, and new designs are not needed. ”
TfL also began work on Cycleway 9 in late October, with work expected to be completed by summer this year.
The road stretches between Watermans Park and Hammersmith town centre, including Chiswick High Road, to “make cycling and walking on our roads easier, safer and more attractive”. Built by TfL.
TfL and Hounslow Borough Council have been contacted for comment.