Transport for London (TfL) has launched a new campaign in a bid to reduce the number of motorcyclists killed or seriously injured in the Capital.
TfL says a high proportion of collisions involving motorcyclists involve the rider going too fast for the road conditions or losing control, with no other vehicle involved. The campaign aims to highlight this by reminding riders of the importance of travelling at an appropriate speed for the road they are on.
Riders are encouraged to ‘Think! Don’t ride too fast’ through a series of film clips in cinemas and on social media, which “show the potentially tragic consequences of not riding at a safe speed”.
Ben Plowden, director of strategy and planning for TfL Surface Transport, said: “Motorcyclists and scooter riders are among the most vulnerable road users and with the recent spike in fatalities it is important that action to reduce the number of casualties continues.
“It is vital for all road users to pay attention to their speed and surroundings and to be aware of other road users.”
TfL is also launching a design competition later this month (16 March) to raise awareness of the importance of wearing personal protective clothing (PPE) and to stimulate innovative new designs for PPE.
Not wishing to be argumentative Tim but can you explain or extrapolate what is meant by your in car sticker that says ‘Please keep a Safe Distance.’ If the driver has been keeping 30ft behind vehicles in a 30mph limit area for the last 5 or 10 years he is going to say that isn’t he, as he has not yet had an incident to think otherwise. That said I assume that your way of thinking is that a “Safe” distance should be as printed in the Highway Code and that of course would be the overall stopping distance of some 75 ft. A far cry from 30 ft.
Without recourse or reference to the Highway Code S. 126, a driver may continue to drive at that tailgating distance because as far as he is concerned its always been safe. Notwithstanding that he totally disregards or has no knowledge of the data given to him by the Highway Code
So much for THINK… sounds nice but leaves much to be desired unless you are actually going to inform the public of how to drive with safety. Just posing the question isn’t the answer unless you are prepared to inform (educate).
Bob Craven Lancs….Space is Safe camapigner
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Hi Bob
I agree with you, any campaign should contain specific advice, but there are benefits to also using the THINK! brand – it’s instantly related to road safety. Our last brand tracking showed 90% of motorists recognise the brand and 76% agreed that they trust messages carrying the THINK! logo.
Tim Lennon, Department for Transport
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Sorry David, no THINK doesn’t bring anything to mind unless the mind is primed on what to think about. As you say “THINK about what you are doing and its possible consequences for you and other road users”, agree that is not quite as snappy but it does at least identify what to THINK about, whereas just THINK means absolutely nothing to the driver in the street. The sooner the DfT realise this the better off and safer we will all be.
Bob Craven Lancs….Space is Safe Campaign
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I wonder if the posters stating “Think Bike” with a silhouette of a rider, might better work if it stated “See Me?”
Derek Reynolds, Salop.
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@Bob Craven, you are right. Telling us to think, without telling what to think about, seems a bit daft at first view. However, it does promote the matter in people’s consciousness, and perhaps leads them to consider many different aspects of their riding/driving. I am not sure that it is quite as vacuous as first appears. As a slogan, it works; it is a recognisable brand, and I ask myself whether ‘Think about what you are about to do and its possible consequences for you, and other road users’ is quite as snappy. We may question the methods, but there is no doubt that the authorities have a willingness to reduce the toll on the roads.
David, Suffolk
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This campaign has been launched by TfL. Do the casualty figures for P2Ws in London rate a campaign about riding too fast or should it be about people stepping/pulling out in front of P2Ws?
I have not seen the pan London data but suggest that the latter (SMIDSY) type of incident is higher in London and the high speed error “with no other vehicle involved” is a rural road problem.
Peter Westminster
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The “THINK “campaign actually means nothing unless the public are instructed/guided upon what to think and then what to believe the results would be, in terms of consequences. As I said “THINK” by itself means absolutely nothing without some form of qualification as to what people should be thinking. “THINK” about it.
Bob Craven Lancs…Space is Safe Campaigner
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Derek:
I took it that the message ‘Don’t ride too fast’ meant ‘Dont ride so fast that you won’t be able to stop in time/stay in control’. In some of your scenarios, it sounds as though it doesn’t really apply as you were actually statonary. However I’m sure otherwise, you ride /drive with that fundamental rule uppermost in your mind just as I do, and it’s worked so far. The other part of the DfT’s slogan ‘Think!’ is just as important, as it covers the what, where and when.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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Well, not really Hugh. My ‘training’ came through experience and consideration for as many elements of road safety as can be applied in real life, not from some asinine comment of ‘Don’t ride too fast’. Too fast needs far more investigation as to what, where, and when “too fast” – is too fast. On two occasions I was stationary in traffic, shunted from behind and sent crashing to the ground.
Take the two examples of road safety films in the DOE thread ‘Bike speed’. The motorcyclist is accelerating too fast around what appears to be a blind bend. Foolish, dangerous, and as the clip shows – selfish.
The fellow associated clip ‘Biker aware’ shows precisely the situations that do occur, and as stated, are the biggest cause of motorcyclists deaths and serious injuries. Doubtless the claims will be made of ‘too fast to react’. But riding or driving at a speed necessary to avoid such accidents will require someone walking ahead with a red flag – and even that did not prevent all accidents as history shows.
Derek Reynolds, Salop.
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On the other hand Derek, had you been hit whilst you were travelling above 20mph – a speed that you might have regarded as inapppropriate in those sanme circumstances – you may not have survived to tell us about it, so the DfT message ‘Don’t ride too fast’ worked for you. Tell Duncan.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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Quite right Derek, the question is why was it a “Silly place to overtake really . .”? What was it about that place that made an overtake there silly? How come the poor chap only realised this after the event and not before? These are the questions that need to be answered if we are ever going to get anywhere.
Duncan MacKillop. No surprise – No accident.
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The comment by the living soon to be deceased was “Silly place to overtake really . .”
You can be knocked off whilst travelling at an appropriate speed. It only takes someone not looking where they are going – could be another vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian. I’ve been knocked off by all three whilst doing 20mph or less.
Derek Reynolds, Salop.
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Not all motorcyclists are speeders Duncan, so something must be influencing them – perhaps it’s previous campaigns?
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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Campaigns such as this have not made any difference in the past so why are they expected to make any difference now?
Duncan MacKillop. No surprise – No accident.
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Good to see a campaign that doesn’t shirk from saying what needs to be said. Let’s hope it gets through to the right people and they actually take heed.
Hugh Jones, Cheshire
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