A DRIVING instructor of 30 years has been left furious at the faded road markings on a Bradford roundabout which has made it a “free-for-all” and a “nightmare” for drivers.

The “dangerous” roundabout is in BD4 and connects Wakefield Road, Prospect Road and Bowling Back Lane. It is a pivotal route for people from Laisterdyke, Broomfields, Dudley Hill and Bowling to access the city centre.

As the Telegraph & Argus pictures show, the markings intended to tell a driver where each lane should be are virtually impossible to see.

This has been a source of frustration for Sajad Khaliq over the last few years as he uses the area for practical tests. However, he doesn’t just think it has become an annoyance to learner drivers but also to those with more experience.

Sajad said: “All the way around the roundabout, there is no marking on it. The markings that are there have faded. They either need repainting or rethinking.

“It is a genuine nightmare for every driver. Not for just people who know the area, but those who are unfamiliar. Even someone who has been driving for decades coming into the city, they would come unstuck at that roundabout.

“It is not a case of speed. The biggest problem is those really confident drivers who have been driving for a long time are flying around there without any regard for those who need a little more time.

“If there were road markings there, those who are flying around would at least stick to their own lane. At the moment, it is a free-forall, jumping lanes here there and everywhere to get to the other side of the roundabout.

“Bear in mind I have been on and off work over the last year and half due to Covid restrictions, I must have seen at least three accidents related to positioning on that roundabout during that period.

“If two or three cars turn up from different directions it could be a case of gridlock or whoever is a bit braver takes priority.”

The T&A also visited the other two roundabouts on Wakefield Road, the one linking Neville Road to New Hey Road and the huge one at the top connecting Tong Street, Rooley Lane, Sticker Lane and Wakefield Road. The markings on each of those also clearly need a lick of paint.

Sajad was keen to point out that the problem could be easily fixed. Although he was critical of Bradford Council for not attending to the issue quickly enough.

Sajad added: “All it takes is for the council to send a line paving machine down and they could get through forty or even fifty roads a day. I have tried to get in touch with Highways England, but I can’t get through to anybody.

“I feel us as driving instructors go a long way towards putting out safe drivers. We prepare them for a good life of safe driving.

“The police do their bit, trying to enforce rules. The only ones that don’t seem to be doing their bit is the local authority in the way of painting lines on the road. The cost is relatively minimal to relay the markings.”

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We’d like to thank the T&A for bringing this to our attention, our highways team will investigate and respond to this as soon as possible.”