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Motorist's video shows Indego bicyclists using I-676

Patrons of the city’s bike-sharing system were illegally riding on an interstate highway.

A video captured by a driver's dashcam shows two people using Indego, the city's bike-sharing system, heading westbound on Interstate 676 around 10 p.m.
A video captured by a driver's dashcam shows two people using Indego, the city's bike-sharing system, heading westbound on Interstate 676 around 10 p.m.Read moreYouTube

TWO CYCLISTS riding Indego bikes got a taste of life in the fast lane when they cruised down Interstate 676 Sunday night.

A video captured by a driver's dashcam shows the pair using Indego, the city's bike-sharing system, heading westbound around 10 p.m. Neither of the cyclists appears to be wearing a helmet as they ride between the edge of the far-right lane and a concrete barrier.

Mervin Choun, the driver who filmed the video, said he was heading to his Brewerytown home when he noticed the traffic slowing down near the interstate's 8th Street entrance. Cars maneuvered cautiously past the daredevils, who Choun said he believes exited at Broad Street. The closest Indego station to that exit is near the Broad Street Line stop at Broad and Spring streets.

"I've been cycling in Philly for eight years and I've never heard of anyone going on there before to get anywhere," said Choun, an Urban Outfitters employee. "I don't know why anyone would do it intentionally."

It's illegal to ride a bike or walk on most interstates in Pennsylvania, said Alex Doty, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. Bicyclists are permitted on a "handful" of rural interstates, but I-676 isn't one of them, Doty said.

Mark McDonald, Mayor Nutter's spokesman, said bicyclists must obey the law, which is noted by a sticker on every Indego bike that says to stay off limited-access highways. With cars sometimes speeding around 70 mph, the interstate environment is downright dangerous for cyclists, he said.

"Any reasonable person would look at that video and it would send a chill up your spine," McDonald said. "I'm sure they [the bicyclists] were wishing like hell that they could get off."

The Mayor's Office of Transportation and Utilities, which manages Indego, was not immediately available for comment.