A video has captured the moment a Just Eat delivery rider was spotted cycling along a busy motorway, a few feet from cars travelling at 70mph. A motorist says the rider was spotted on the M6 in Birmingham, near to the busy 'spaghetti junction.'
Footage shows the rider carrying a large rucksack as cars pass them at high speeds. They appear to be cycling along the hard shoulder, to the shock of passing motorists.
Matthew Bowater, who took the video, told BirminghamLive the scenes had left him worried and immediately raised his concerns with police and the food delivery service, who have confirmed they are investigating the incident.
Also read: Bristol man drove wrong way up M32 in dark with no lights and flat tyre
He said he had never seen anything like it and called 101 straight away. He also sent the footage to the Central Motorway Police Group, which covers Staffordshire and the West Midlands.
Matthew said: "I was travelling north on M6 just after spaghetti junction. I called 101 once off so could get help to the guy.
"The contact centre thought I said the was a Just Eat lorry [delivering] bikes. When the penny dropped it was a cyclist [the operator] went 'oh I get someone on it straight away'."
Also read: Dramatic M32 police chase after driver fled London in stolen car
In December 2021, the Daily Mail reported that another Just Eat delivery cyclist was spotted travelling along the hard shoulder of the busy M5 motorway in Birmingham.
Driver Paul Elliot told the newspaper the cyclist was spotted between the M6 junction 8, the Ray Hall Interchange and M5 southbound junction 1.
In August 2018, an Uber Eats delivery rider was also spotted riding along the M5. The cyclist, pictured with a big green Uber Eats branded rucksack on his back, was spotted peddling along junction two of the busy motorway in a dramatic image.
Just Eat was contacted for a response. The company wrote back to Matthew on Twitter to say it was investigating.
In a social media post, the firm said: "Hi Matthew, thanks for flagging. Most delivery drivers delivering food to customers’ doors are employed directly by independent restaurants. We do work with third-party courier companies, agency couriers and self-employed independent contractors in certain areas.
"We hold ourselves to the highest standards and in line with these, we would expect all drivers associated with Just Eat to act responsibly and respectfully at all times. We're investigating this, please do send a DM if you have any further details to share."
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