Campaign raises awareness of ‘car-dooring’

Leicester City Council is supporting a cyclists’ awareness campaign by displaying safety stickers across its fleet of more than 720 vehicles.

The ‘Sam Says’ campaign, which aims to educate drivers about the dangers of ‘car-dooring’, was launched in memory of Sam Boulton – a 26-year-old teacher who died after a taxi passenger opened a door and knocked him into the path of a van.

As part of the campaign, safety stickers have been produced with Sam’s image and the message ‘Stop! Before you open the car door, check for cyclists.’

Leicester City Council has pledged to use the stickers on its fleet of vehicles – while Sam’s family are hoping taxis, fleet vehicles and family cars across the city will also display the artwork. The campaign is already being backed by three local taxi firms.

Jeff Boulton, Sam’s dad, said: “The Sam Says campaign is about reminding people of the dangers and potential human costs of car-dooring and the simple things we can all do help prevent it from happening.

“Sam’s death was heart-breaking for the whole family and we want to mark his memory by helping to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“The aim is to get the Sam Says stickers into as many vehicles as possible. It’s so important that drivers and passengers remember to take a moment to check for cyclists and take care when opening their doors.

“We’re really grateful to the city council and the taxi firms that are already supporting the campaign for setting such a positive example. We hope other companies will follow their lead.”

Cllr Adam Clarke, deputy mayor of Leicester, said: “Sam Boulton’s tragic death has highlighted the vulnerability of cyclists and the Sam Says campaign will help remind people to take the greatest possible care when leaving a vehicle.

“The council has hundreds of vehicles and it’s vital that we lead by example in such an important safety campaign. We’re very proud to support Sam Says.”

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