BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

++1

That is really good.

So much of the rage at bicyclists comes out of situations where a delay is, as the announcement says, "2 or 3 seconds"

Mick

Are these PSAs showing only in WA?

That would be DC not WA... and they absolutely need it. DC drivers (more accurately, MD and VA) are lunatics. And bicyclists seem less aware of safe practices, too. When I lived there, a young woman was killed not far from my office in Dupont Circle - she was riding on the sidewalk and as she was crossing a street at a green light, a garbage truck going the same direction as her made a right turn, and... you could imagine. Unsurprisingly, the driver did not get in any trouble - he obviously could not see her on his right side. Very sad, but avoidable with bike education.

Yeah, sorry. Created by an advocacy group in DC as well as the DC DOT.

These are pretty good. See how the cyclist swerved out to the left when the door opened? That's how cyclists get hit by busses.

I liked the way the second one provided advice for both motorists and cyclists. I firmly believe that we can reach a much larger proportion of cyclists with a safety message than we can reach motorists -- and the cyclists have a much greater personal incentive to pay attention.

I would have preferred that the anti-dooring ad took a stronger tone with its advice for cyclists, though. Instead of saying "cyclists can ride further out into the lane", it ought to have said "cyclists should ride 5 feet from parked cars to avoid sudden surprises". There would also be an implicit message there for motorists, explaining why smart cyclists don't ride within arm's length of the cars.

The first (right-hook) ad had no advice for cyclists at all. I was disappointed by that. Maybe in the next revision.

I'm with Lyle. These are good, but could be better.

That avoid-the-door move is indeed very unsafe. If I were to re-do this spot, I would make it much clearer that cyclists are entitled to the full lane. Drivers need to be aware that that is why cyclists are not hugging the cars.

Final thought: I like how the rider is female, and not all that young. Subtle message: Anyone can be on a bicycle.

What are the odds the Bike PGH could get the rights to air these in Pitssburgh?

It should be noted that the avoid-the-door move was not presented as though it should be safe, per se.

But the takeaway from that conflict was "oops, motorist bad, scared girl, oh good, all better now".

That woman seriously has the "nonplussed" look down to a science.

I think a Pittburghized version would sell better in Pgh. The narrator would need a thick Pittsburgh accent.