The London Road Safety Council* (LRSC) has unveiled a new campaign which uses humour to convey road safety reminders.
LRSC has commissioned the cartoonist Steve Simpson to produce a series of cartoons to be published over the next 12 months.
The first cartoon addresses cyclists and the issue of cycling up the left hand side of HGVs. The cartoon shows a cyclist dressed in a full suit of knight’s armour, with his accomplice saying she’s ‘still not convinced it’s safe to cycle up the left side of lorries’.
Other issues to be covered in the cartoons include texting and driving, drink driving, speeding and crossing the road with children.
Liz Brooker, spokesperson for LRSC, said: “Rather than telling people what they should or should not do, or attempting to scare them by showing the gory consequences of dangerous actions, this campaign encourages people to modify their behaviour though the use of humour.
“Initially the campaign will run on the LRSC Facebook page, but we may extend it onto our website and possibly produce a calendar to mark LRSC’s centenary in 2017.”
*London Road Safety Council
The LRSC’s aim is to reduce the number of needless casualties across Greater London by producing and promoting resources and publicity materials while providing a forum to discuss road safety issues.
I’ve mentioned before how we seem to be seeing less road safety ads on national TV. Decades later they can still stick in one’s mind, partly because they were on so frequently and partly because they had perhaps an off-the-wall humourous angle which made them memorable. Who remembers Reginald Molehusband trying to park his car or Michael Palin fronting an ad for not driving too close? Ken Dodd’s add on how to use a zebra crossing safely? Even catchy jingles can get the message over – provided people can get to hear them.
Hugh Jones
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I’m all for it. Sending road safety messages through humour does work – although getting the right image is critical. There are a few motorcycle safety gems tucked away in the Ogri cartoon strips as those of us of a certain age may recall.
Pat, Wales
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The cartoon shows the cyclist about to attempt to pass the lorry on the left! The odd sense of humour is that he feels the need to wear a suit of armour. This looks like the style of Russell Brockbank who drew for The Motor and Punch. Transport has been a popular subject for cartoonists and Giles did a couple in the 60s on RoSPA campaigns. (Not pushing prams out into the road first comes to mind).
Peter City of Westminster
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So the cartoon actually shows a lorry closely passing a cyclist, but the cyclist is being blamed for it? That’s an odd sense of “humour”.
Alan Braggins, Cambridge
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