Man attempts to drive through cycle lane in Auckland City.
A cyclist has captured the shocking moment a man drives his car through the barriers and into a cycle lane in downtown Auckland.
Footage of the incident shows the cyclist pedalling towards an intersection on Quay St in his designated cycle lane when suddenly a turning car attempts to drive down the cycle lane, where oncoming cyclists were positioned last Saturday.
As the man attempts to make the turn - while pedestrians are crossing - a driver in a PT Cruiser is seen running a red light before hurling abuse at the cyclist who refused to move for the turning brown Hillman Hunter.
This is the shocking moment a man drove his car into a cycle way in downtown Auckland on Saturday. Photo / Matthew Perrin
"The 'old man' stopped, preparing to drive into the cycle lane while I had a red light," cyclist Matthew Perrin told the Herald.
"The couple in the PT Cruiser drove up through a red light to tell me to 'move out of the way for him, he's an old man you idiot'. Then he drove up right through the cycle lane anyway."
As the pedestrians finish crossing, the man in the Hillman Hunter then continues down the cycleway, before the video cuts out.
Locals took to social media to condemn the driving, especially those who hurled abuse at the cyclist.
"Isn't it mental that the guys in the PT Cruiser abused the cyclist who was in the right? It's crazy that the cyclist was considered the bad person," one person wrote.
"That's one of the most ridiculous cycle vs car demonstrations I've seen!"
Another wrote: "WTF?....do they think road rules only apply to some?"
Despite the cyclist having no room to move, the occupants of the PT Cruiser ran a red light to hurl abuse at Perrin. Photo / Matthew Perrin
Following the incident, Perrin told the Herald that while he was frustrated at the Hillman Hunter driver's decision to use the cycle lane, he was furious at the PT Cruiser occupants' behaviour.
"The man driving the Hillman Hunter clearly didn't know he couldn't enter his vehicle to where he was intending, a simple mistake but he had more than enough space to remedy it.
"But I think the attitudes expressed by the PT Cruiser occupants in the video are perhaps short-sighted, which is evidenced by their flouting of the road rules; being stuck in the middle of an intersection on a red, continuing through on a red while the pedestrian crossing signal was green, and trying to resolve a situation they were not involved in when approaching me to complain."
Perrin said he believed the video highlighted the division between cyclists and motorists on our roads, saying it's frustrating that cyclists are painted as "illegitimate road users" while "motorists are the intended recipients of the road infrastructure".
After looking back on the incident, Perrin hopes that attitudes will one day change and that road users will be more patient and tolerant of one another.
"It would be nice if we could appreciate that more and go about our ways, adhering to the rules we voted to enter our legislation - to keep each other safe, and have a good time."
