THE actions of drivers caught blatantly mounting pavements to avoid waiting in queuing traffic have been branded “inexcusable” by the officer leading a police road safety crackdown across the Bradford district.

Dashcam footage of two incidents was sent to the Telegraph & Argus in support of our Stop the Danger Drivers campaign, which was one of the triggers behind the launch of Operation Steerside by West Yorkshire Police two years ago.

The videos, one of which appears to show a driving instructor overtaking using the kerb, were also labelled “deeply concerning” by a leading road safety charity.

In the first incident, a driver seen in heavy traffic on Dick Lane starts to overtake vehicles down the middle of the road as the queue approaches the Tyersal area.

When they are unable to merge into the queue, the driver continues fully on the wrong side of the road until two oncoming vehicles are forced to stop.

To continue, the driver mounts the pavement to the right of the oncoming traffic before then pulling right back across the road to rejoin the queue just before a traffic island.

In the second incident, a driver in a driving instructor’s vehicle is caught waiting in traffic in the run-up to the junction of Hollingwood Lane and Great Horton Road.

Rather than wait for the queue to progress, the driver mounts the kerb and passes a number of stationary vehicles before turning left at the top of the road.

Sergeant Cameron Buchan, the officer responsible for leading Steerside, said of the footage: “Both drivers start off as seeming impatient, but their actions develop into something unlawful, at best.

“In the first incident, mounting the off-side kerb is just inexcusable, I’d be interested to know what their justification was. Forcing oncoming cars to take action to avoid a collision is driving without due care and attention, getting towards dangerous driving.

“The driver has only earned a few car lengths, and has put people in harm’s way to gain so little. The lesson is, it simply isn’t worth it.”

Referring to the second incident, Sgt Buchan added: “We can’t be certain if it’s a driving instructor, but it clearly doesn’t look good. Again it is impatience that becomes unlawful. The kerb is for pedestrians, it is not for drivers, that is simply not on.”

A spokesman for Brake, the road safety charity, said: “This footage is deeply concerning, and shows the type of reckless driving that can, and regularly does, lead to collisions and deaths on the road.

“It is shocking to see such blatant disregard for the rules of the road, which exist to keep us all safe. Too many drivers seem to believe that their journey is more important than the safety of other road users. Reckless drivers must be caught and punished, and police forces must be given the resources to allow them to do this.”