DRIVERS have hailed new 20mph zones in Glasgow as "pointless" and say pedestrians are the real danger.

Bus and delivery drivers said pedestrians wander in front of traffic, glued to their phones, and that speeding traffic is not an issue in the city centre.

Their comments come after the Evening Times revealed just two drivers were fined for flouting the zone in a year.

Stephen Moran, a 57-year-old taxi driver, said that pedestrians are the biggest problem and cause most risk to themselves.

He said: "There are too many pedestrians around the city’s streets and they just walk out in front of you.

“It’s girls with prams who just walk out. They are not only endangering themselves, but their child and myself for having to slam the brakes on to avoid any sort of a collision.”

A Royal Mail Driver said: “The limits make absolutely no difference to my job whatsoever. Really, the problems come from pedestrians and shoppers not looking where they are going.

"They are all glued to their phones all of the time and never look up, just wandering in front of traffic.

“Around the centre that is the bigger problem, not the speed of the cars. Although that might be different overnight."

A First Bus Driver shared these views and also believes cyclists cause a major problem on the road. He said: "Pedestrians are a hazard to themselves. They are more distracted than drivers, but cyclists can be a pain as well. They often ignore red lights and just go wherever they want. They definitely are not following the rules of the road.”

He said taxi drivers "often get a bad name for their driving" but he thought they were safe compared to cyclists.

He added: "For a bus driver the 20mph limits are not a problem as, with the number of times we are stopping, we never get close to that anyway."

Taxi driver Martin Walsh, 52, believes the restrictions are not needed. He said: “These 20mph zones are pointless. You can rarely get up to any sort of speed in the city centre during the day and spend most of your time stopped at the lights.

“It’s people who work on the roads are the ones who will be most affected.”

Taxi driver Richard Carson, 47, believes the 20mph restriction in place is needed.

He said: “Pedestrians are the biggest problem I face on a day to day basis. I have never seen anyone stopped for going faster than 20mph and in certain areas you can exceed that speed which is a danger to the public.”

Pedestrians, however, feel there too much speeding in the city with nothing being done about it.

John Innes, 60, a keen walker and volunteer said: “Cars drive too fast through the city centre and the 20mph law is not being implemented. I fear as a pedestrian that there is significant danger to me and that policing are ignoring the issue.”

Fiona Morgan said: “I think the reduced speed limits in the city are a good idea. I often see people speeding through red lights, and cyclists never wait for any lights.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing the limit reduced to 10mph in specific areas.”

Fifty-eight-year old George Czemarti has fears over congestion. He said: “I think that the 20mph speed limits are a good thing, it restricts speed in order to prevent accidents and helps the most vulnerable on the road, the cyclists. I do understand though that it must be frustrating for drivers.

“Lowering the speed limit any further is just going to bring us more problems regarding congestion and I empathise with drivers for this. The knock on effects congestion can have must be so frustrating for drivers.”