A foreign tourist has been slammed for endangering lives by cycling along a busy motorway in poor weather.
The woman, whose nationality has not been revealed, sparked a flood of calls to the police after being spotted making her way along the M90 in the rain.
Cycling on a motorway is illegal.
Police stopped the woman just south of Bridge of Earn at around 5pm and discovered that she was on her way to Kinross – almost 12 miles away.
A source said: “She was a foreign tourist and was trying to get to Kinross. She was obviously unaware of the road traffic laws in this country.”
One motorist spoke of his shock at witnessing the cyclist on the busy road .
He said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes – lorries were thundering past her.
“My travelling companion phoned the cops, and they said they’d had lots of reports and were sending a car out. The next junction is about 10 miles away and it was chucking it down with rain.”
A spokeswoman for Brake, the road safety charity, said the woman had put her own life and those of others at risk.
“Although Brake actively encourages cycling, we understand this clearly has to be done in a safe environment where lives are not put in danger,” she said.
“Travelling by bike needs to be supported by the correct infrastructure, such as traffic-free and segregated paths, and slower speed limits.
“By choosing to ride on the M90 this cyclist put their life, and the lives of other road users at risk, in dangerous weather conditions.”
Local councillor Henry Anderson said the woman may not have realised the road was a motorway.
He said: This incident is very alarming and potentially dangerous to the cyclist.
“One would imagine that most continental countries would not allow cyclists on their motorway-type roads network.
“However most Scottish motorways were built before the eighties do look more like dual carriageways.
“Therefore most people from south of Carlisle and further afield would be quite easily be confused with the compactness of our motorway system, when one compares it to the M25, M6, down south and the massive highway systems in Europe.”
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: “We attended on the M90 between Bridge of Earn and Milnathort following several reports of a cyclist travelling southbound on the hard shoulder of the carriageway at about 5pm on Tuesday, August 23.
“She was traced and taken to Kinross to safely continue her journey.”
