An MP has said he is “absolutely horrified” to see footage of drivers ploughing into pedestrians at a zebra crossing where there have been a series of accidents in recent years.
The Labour MP Imran Hussain said he was concerned about “accident blackspots” in his Bradford East constituency after clips of the collisions were shared by the television presenter Jeremy Vine.
One video showed a pedestrian being thrown into the air by a car that failed to stop, while two others showed motorists driving into cyclists in broad daylight. A fourth clip showed a woman knocked to the ground by a car that crossed at speed at night.
The footage has been viewed more than 40,000 times online after being shared by Vine, who described them as examples of “petrosexuals” abusing public spaces. Posting one video, he tweeted: “What the HELL is going on with this zebra???”
What the HELL is going on with this zebra???pic.twitter.com/eJLNGrmaav
— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 17, 2022
Bradford council said on Friday it understood local concerns about the crossing on Horton Grange Road, about a mile from the city centre, and would carry out an immediate inspection.
A council spokesperson said it was awaiting funding to convert the location to a signalled crossing with traffic lights and that this work would take place “as soon as we can”.
It said improvement works were carried out four years ago to replace its Belisha beacons with high-visibility LED units and enhanced white road markings. It is unclear why the crossing appears to have become such an accident hotspot in recent years.
Hussain said he had been pressing the council and West Yorkshire police to improve the safety of roads in the city that some drivers use “as rat runs and racetracks”.
He added: “I’m absolutely horrified to see this catalogue of incidents where cars have hit pedestrians on what is a well-marked and visible zebra crossing on Horton Grange Road, and it is evidently clear that we need to see much tougher action against those who seemingly have no problem with violating the rules of the road.
“For too long, a minority of dangerous drivers in Bradford have been blighting Bradford’s roads and making the lives of the majority of responsible road users an absolute misery, and I’ve been pressing both Bradford council and West Yorkshire police to implement a number of road safety measures at accident blackspots in my constituency, while also pressing ministers to impose tougher sentences for dangerous drivers.”
