Watch: Driver uses footpath as 'third lane' to beat Auckland traffic

An impatient driver has staged a protest against Auckland gridlock traffic by driving along the footpath.

A video shows the people mover manoeuvring between fences and power poles as it travels along the pavement in a bid to beat the traffic on Mahia Rd in Manurewa.

Eyewitness Roberta Leevard, whose son took the video, said a pedestrian was forced to jump out of the way as the car drove along the sidewalk on Thursday evening.

"She [the pedestrian] was walking towards the car and he made her move. He just kept going, he wasn't going to stop.

"She stopped and stared at him. I think she was shocked."

Other drivers watched in shock, while some tooted at the vehicle, she said.

"I've never seen . . . .a person make a third lane before and drive along the footpath.

"At first I noticed the car coming from behind. I thought perhaps he was stuck in a driveway. He tried to imply he was going down a side street but he didn't. That's when I realised what he was doing," Leevard said.

"The car hardly fitted along the footpath."

Leevard said the car travelled along the footpath from the intersection of Mahia and Christmas Rds all the way to Beaumonts Way Extension - about 300m.

Mahia Rd is a major thoroughfare, which connects to the Southern Motorway.