A daredevil e-bike rider was left prone after crashing in a busy cross-town tunnel while trying to cross an elevated lane divider to reach a blocked off-ramp.
Sisters Kobi Klyde and Amy Macintosh filmed the cyclist, who was not wearing a helmet, inside the Eastern Distributor in Sydney at around 9.30pm on Saturday.
The man, wearing a light pink shirt and light gray pants, was traveling in the left lane heading south towards Sydney Airport.
Perplexed by the strange sight, Macintosh began filming the man riding the electric bike with her phone.
‘What are you doing, brother?’ she asked.
The man then crashed into the lane divider a few seconds later, while trying to jump into the left lane towards the Bondi and Randwick exit.
The man then fell off the white and green Uber-backed Lime rental bike and landed heavily on the road.
A helmet that appeared to have been inside a basket located in front of the bike was seen flying away as Klyde and Macintosh screamed in shock.
A cyclist who was filmed cycling inside the Eastern Distributor tunnel (pictured) in Sydney on Saturday night crashed after trying to pass through a marked lane divider.
Moments earlier, the man was seen changing lanes inside the tunnel several times.
Klyde, 26, said the man briefly stopped traffic in the southbound lanes while pedaling the bicycle.
“I was very surprised that he was in the tunnel because I knew it was illegal,” Mrs. Clyde told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Cycling on motorways and toll tunnels is illegal in New South Wales and offenders face a maximum fine of $2,200.
A Transurban spokesperson told WhatsNew2Day Australia they are aware of the incident after they were notified the cyclist had entered the tunnel.
‘After locating the cyclist, we closed one lane and sent our Incident Response staff to assist. “The cyclist was able to exit the tunnel before our team arrived,” the spokesperson said.
Last year, a food delivery driver was caught on CCTV footage riding a bicycle inside the M8 motorway as cars and trucks passed by.
He then abruptly stopped traffic as he crossed several lanes into another part of the tunnel toward an exit.
Another cyclist was also caught riding through the M4 tunnel, after an incident response team saw the man cycling on the wrong side of the road against traffic.
More than 120 cyclists rode on highways and tunnels across Sydney between January and July last year.
The Eastern Distributor was the most used by cyclists and 11 have been seen there since January, most of them food delivery people.
A NSW Transport spokesperson told the WhatsNew2Day there are a number of measures, including traffic signs, telling cyclists not to enter tunnels and motorways.
“Most tunnels are not designed for cycling and are high-speed vehicle routes with no infrastructure or provisions for cyclists or pedestrians,” the spokesperson said.
“Cyclists who illegally use tunnels expose themselves and others to the risk of serious injury or death.”
Cyclists are not allowed to cycle on motorways (pictures) or tunnels in New South Wales and will face fines for committing the offence.
