'Most cycle lanes are not fit for purpose' says Surrey Police

Cycle lanes are "not fit for purpose" and "full of potholes" with it being good that cyclists are not required to use them, according to Surrey Police.

In a tweet from the Road Policing Unit of Surrey Police, which often weighs in to social media debates to point out the rights that cyclists have on the roads and how other road users should behave around them, the force pointed out that cyclists were under no obligation to use cycle lanes and would often choose not to use them due to them being in a worse state than many roads.

"Most cycle lanes are not fit for purpose," the force tweeted. "Full of potholes and manhole covers - no requirement (thankfully) to use them."

As the Surrey cops correctly point out out, there is no legal requirement for cyclists to use cycle paths and cycle lanes, with many choosing not to use them for a number of reasons.

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As well as cycle lanes often being potholed, they can also be poorly designed and seemingly designed to move cyclists off the road rather than get them to their destination in a quick, convenient, and safe manner, and are also often blocked with all manner of items such as parked cars and skips.

The Surrey Road Cops Twitter account has been applauded for its positive attitude towards cyclists, often responding to motorist's ill-informed opinions, such as when correcting one user's complaint that driver's have to "risk their lives" to overtake cyclists.

The account's latest intervention sparked a long string of replies from both drivers and cyclists, with the officers also saying that it is acceptable on occasion for cyclists to cross the stop line at a red light if they need to do this for their own safety, and correcting another's assumption that cars were on the road before cyclists when in fact it was the other way round.