Edinburgh cyclist in go-slow protest after tram driver beeps her at traffic lights

A ​cyclist in Edinburgh staged a go-slow protest in front of one of the city’s trams during Thursday morning’s rush hour after the driver beeped her at a set of traffic lights in the Scottish capital’s West End.

The cyclist had been waiting at a red light at the junction of Lothian Road and Princes Street, with the tram driver sounding his horn after the lights changed to green, reports Edinburgh Live.

According to passers-by who saw the incident, the bike rider then pedalled slowly in front of the tram – and for good measure, also flipped the driver her middle finger.

One witness told Edinburgh Live: “You could see them waiting at a red light on Princes Street at the bottom of Lothian Road.

“The cyclist was just in front of the tram and all of a sudden the tram driver tooted his horn as the lights changed to green.

“You could see the cyclist was agitated because she turned around and gestured to the driver before pulling off.

“She then just rode along Princes Street in the middle of the tram tracks continuing to remonstrate with the tram following behind slowly. At one point she turned around and gave the driver the finger.

“Princes Street was pretty busy at that time of the morning with commuters – you could hear one bloke say 'what is that cyclist doing?' before bursting into laughter.

“It was all pretty weird,” the witness added.

“I mean, I've seen plenty of cyclist and driver rammies around Edinburgh but never one with a tram before.”

The junction where the altercation began is the same one where medical student Zhi Min Soh was killed when she was thrown into the path of a tour bus after the wheel of her bike got stuck in a tram track in 2017.

> Family of cyclist killed in Edinburgh tram track crash win compensation

Other cyclists who have suffered serious injury after crashing on the tram tracks have also won compensation, but the number of reported incidents rose in 2019 despite the Edinburgh City Council pledging to make safety improvements.

> Tram-related cyclist falls in Edinburgh went up last year

Earlier this month, the council confirmed that it would make changes to a segregated cycle path being installed on Leith Walk as part of the Trams to Newhaven project after the infrastructure was branded as “moronic” on social media due to sharp zig-zags as the route passed parking bays and other obstacles.

> ‘Moronic’: Edinburgh Council to make changes to bizarre zig-zag cycle lane after social media backlash