Awareness Raising Spoke Cards Campaign Project?

With a few exceptions, we haven't had much feedback on the campaign. Do you want to be a part of it? Can you help with the video, website etc? If you can, please say so. Do you have ideas for improving the campaign? We've had a few responses but I'd be encouraged if we had more. I want to see what level of interest there is in following through on this.

So the meeting tomorrow was to be a vote on campaign alternatives / the ideas put forward. As very little has been put forward - thanks to those who have - I'm going to make the meeting about defining what can be achieved and who can take ownership of each task.

Attendee List

1. jbcommuter
   
   

hey jb. i am interested.

but i think it would be much easier (and possibly more effective) to email the politicians every time a cyclist is killed on londons roads. and that would include mps, local coundillors, the mayors office and copy in the media. and possibly the head of the house of lords.

we need to build a list.

and then the email just needs to simple. something like:

'another cyclist killed today (give date and postcode).

please improve road / community safety'.

i think the steady drip drip drip effect combined with them knowing that we are constantly watching them for action will bug them and then begin to work. they do not want to caught with blood on their hands.

when they ask what can be done. we refer them to ctc and lcc who both have a number of good proposals / strategies to improve road safety for cyclists.

(i believe ctc / lcc cannnot email the politicians in this way because they get govn funding which would be cut if they got up their nose).

we dont have govn funding issues. that is why we are in a good place to get up the politicians noses - by being direct and aggressive. we have nothing to lose.

i would do it myself but i dont have the computer skills. but if anybody who does wants to help / thinks its a good idea post here.

speak soon and all the best.

i think the steady drip drip drip effect combined with them knowing that we are constantly watching them for action will bug them and then begin to work. they do not want to caught with blood on their hands.

The more people contact politicians, the better, as politicians don't actually get that many letters, and they do react. Write to your MP, ministers, even influential local councillors or your ward councillors. Individual letters are best--politicians get a lot of template letters that are just copied and pasted and they're not as effective, as they are often interpreted as showing less genuine concern. (Which is obviously often not true, but it's just how these letters are seen.) We at the LCC often have template letters on our web-site. These give some basic facts that can easily be adapted into a different letter style. See one on lorry mirrors here:

http://www.lcc.org.uk/documents/lettertomeps.rtf

when they ask what can be done. we refer them to ctc and lcc who both have a number of good proposals / strategies to improve road safety for cyclists.

See:

http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=846
http://www.lcc.org.uk//index.asp?PageID=1195
http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1196

(i believe ctc / lcc cannnot email the politicians in this way because they get govn funding which would be cut if they got up their nose).

we dont have govn funding issues. that is why we are in a good place to get up the politicians noses - by being direct and aggressive. we have nothing to lose.

We certainly wouldn't mail politicians with particularly inflammatory rhetoric or aggressive 'getting up their noses'--I think you'd find that that's not very effective. Being direct is good, as per above. It's more than enough to show genuine concern and certainly keep up the pressure if you feel that your concern is not getting through.

You may also be thinking of the fact that we are non-party political? That's not relevant here as obviously all parties are in agreement about the need to reduce road casualties. We do have a number of other constraints to do with our charitable status, but these do not extend to campaigning--we can e-mail anyone and we do it all the time.

Preventing these horrible and tragic deaths from HGVs is one of our absolute top campaigning priorities, and any support is hugely appreciated. Cycling in London has been getting safer for years, and there is no reason whatsoever for the Government to be dragging their feet over the compulsory introduction of advanced mirror systems on all lorries--currently only planned to be compulsory for post-2000 lorries. Naturally, awareness raising campaigns that send the right messages (unfortunately often they don't) are also extremely important.

Oliver
LCC

Am I wrong in thinking that is a crap sign?

I don't speak borkdebork, but it strikes me as stupid to show a cyclist on the inside of a turning truck, in a poster that's supposed to be saying stay the fuck away from turning trucks.

Well there is a cyclist there because the warning is aimed at cyclists and that cyclist is not in the red 'danger zone'

translated it says " remain from the dead angle - there you can come along home"

The more people contact politicians, the better, as politicians don't actually get that many letters, and they do react. Write to your MP, ministers, even influential local councillors or your ward councillors. Individual letters are best--politicians get a lot of template letters that are just copied and pasted and they're not as effective, as they are often interpreted as showing less genuine concern. (Which is obviously often not true, but it's just how these letters are seen.) We at the LCC often have template letters on our web-site. These give some basic facts that can easily be adapted into a different letter style. See one on lorry mirrors here:

http://www.lcc.org.uk/documents/lettertomeps.rtf

See:

http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=846
http://www.lcc.org.uk//index.asp?PageID=1195
http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1196

We certainly wouldn't mail politicians with particularly inflammatory rhetoric or aggressive 'getting up their noses'--I think you'd find that that's not very effective. Being direct is good, as per above. It's more than enough to show genuine concern and certainly keep up the pressure if you feel that your concern is not getting through.

You may also be thinking of the fact that we are non-party political? That's not relevant here as obviously all parties are in agreement about the need to reduce road casualties. We do have a number of other constraints to do with our charitable status, but these do not extend to campaigning--we can e-mail anyone and we do it all the time.

Preventing these horrible and tragic deaths from HGVs is one of our absolute top campaigning priorities, and any support is hugely appreciated. Cycling in London has been getting safer for years, and there is no reason whatsoever for the Government to be dragging their feet over the compulsory introduction of advanced mirror systems on all lorries--currently only planned to be compulsory for post-2000 lorries. Naturally, awareness raising campaigns that send the right messages (unfortunately often they don't) are also extremely important.

Oliver
LCC

noted. i have written to my mp and local councillor and highways officers - and over a number of years. nothing happens.

they just seem to build more roads (and airports) etc etc. and we have to deal with the resultant noise, pollution and danger.

that is why i am interested in becoming more active.

keep up the good work.

So, here is an update:

• I have stopped trying to organise elements of this campaign. It is my reading that while different individuals want to make a meaningful contribution, there is not enough collective buy-in to take on the larger elements such as a direct action, viral video or other aspects as proposed.
  
• I have made several useful contacts - people have offered help with design, media / PR / Research / Concept or to implement ideas. I can happily pass this information on if someone wants to take this up (and the contacts agree!)
  
  
  

If you want to take your own action, here is a list of things you can do to help:

• http://www.pledgebank.com/cyclesafely
  
• Write to, call, or arrange a meeting with your local councillors, assembly members or MP. Make a pledge to do this on the above link.
  
• Write a letter to the editor in your local / regional / national paper
  
• Take part in the elements of the LCC campaign - several LCC members have posted on this thread.
  
• Contact companies with large lorry fleets operating in London - challeng them directly on what they are doing about cycle safety.
  
• Help getting Ghost bikes up at fatality sites (look for Greasy Slag's posts on this thread).
  
• Spread the message to your family, friends and work colleagues.
  
• Other posters: add your ideas!
  
  

Cheers

JB

Well there is a cyclist there because the warning is aimed at cyclists and that cyclist is not in the red 'danger zone'

translated it says " remain from the dead angle - there you can come along home"

that is a snappy tag line!!! we need to come up with something like that.

OK so what's actually happening here? What are we doing? Who's doing what? What's the action plan? what's the haps? Let's get shakin, etc,etc, etc...

Can I make a simple suggestion?

The third weekend in November is the World Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims. http://www.roadpeace.org/

I've seen upthread that there are ghost bikes being put together.
What's the situation with them? Is cash required to paint them or to get some chains?

Can I suggest that we do a memorial ride, try to get to every spot where a rider was killed this year (Jan 2008-) and chain up a ghost bike.

Between us we must have enough media contacts to make this an event worth covering.

If we can just commit to this, then we could spread this info through all the cycling forums and make a pretty big ride out of it.

So, here is an update:

[]I have stopped trying to organise elements of this campaign. It is my reading that while different individuals want to make a meaningful contribution, there is not enough collective buy-in to take on the larger elements such as a direct action, viral video or other aspects as proposed.
[]I have made several useful contacts - people have offered help with design, media / PR / Research / Concept or to implement ideas. I can happily pass this information on if someone wants to take this up (and the contacts agree!)

If you want to take your own action, here is a list of things you can do to help:

[]http://www.pledgebank.com/cyclesafely
[]Write to, call, or arrange a meeting with your local councillors, assembly members or MP. Make a pledge to do this on the above link.
[]Write a letter to the editor in your local / regional / national paper
[]Take part in the elements of the LCC campaign - several LCC members have posted on this thread.
[]Contact companies with large lorry fleets operating in London - challeng them directly on what they are doing about cycle safety.
[]Help getting Ghost bikes up at fatality sites (look for Greasy Slag's posts on this thread).
[]Spread the message to your family, friends and work colleagues.
[]Other posters: add your ideas!

Cheers

JB

Good work JB. keep those notes. We will be here again, as sad as it is.

The forum can still be pulled together for organised rides as Alex's suggested would work. enough people with enough photos and a contact to get it into the BBC would keep this in the news.. there was a young lad killed this week in Tooting by an HGV. we could ride to his site and lay his bike as a group. stopping traffic?

ALSO
**They are currently making a BBC documentary on the dangers of HGV. anyone know about this???
**

@AlexB:
I have 18 sites surveyed, full list of details and a list of bikes to pick up. Armourtex have given me a good rate on spraying them.
Councils have been informed and i am working through a list of relatives.
Locks are in short supply so I am opting for lengths of chain and padlocks (sprayed white) they shouldn't (!) need to be secure.

Once i get the bikes completed i'll stick up a thread, but i need:

• People to help assemble the bikes and spray tyres.saddles
  
• Money to cover the locks\paint etc
  
• Help putting them out.
  
• Spray cans (white)
  
• Someone to print out A3 Stencils (one per site)
  
  

Aim is have them ready for the 8th Nov. nearly there!

A simple question:
Do you have somewhere to spray and assemble the bikes?

I'd be happy to put some time into this, if I can get away from the kids for an evening!

How much cash do you need?

Do you want me to cross-post this onto "Yet Another Cycling Forum" ?
There are a good bunch of people on there (some of whom post here). I don't use BikeRadar or Singletrack very often, but there will be others who can cross-post this.

with regards to publicity, I can perhaps get someone at The Times to take interest (keen cyclist as well), I have a cousin who works at The London Assembly and have been corresponding with a journalist from Radio 4. Jack and Bill must have contacts as well.

Do you have any gaps or things need doing?

It's amazing that you have done all this so far.

@ GS, apart from the bikes, I can happily donate for the locks etc. I can get white spray cans and get out to some of the sites as well.

I went down brick lane today and saw someone using a ghost bike to advertise some alternative hip (read expensive?) clothes shop. What a cheap thing to do.

I have no idea if we can make any difference on a London wide scale using these tactics. How ever I think it's great that we're trying, and I can offer the following:

Free photocopying black and white.
My car can carry 8 bikes at a time, anywhere in London.
Money for spray, locks etc.
My time.
I own (lease) the circular mobile phone shop (The Word) by Old Street roundabout, and the space surrounding it, which is quite large. You are all welcome to use it in any way you see fit, and as it's private no one can stop you.This includes the serious topic we are on here, and normal stuff as well. (like drinking).

You can get me anytime on davidabrahamovitch@gmail.com or 07831415161. I'll take my chances with the spam.

I'm Dave of "Dave and Bruno", on the docklands ride, which btw was fantastic.

Just an update that I'm getting a surprising amount of engagement out of Lambeth council, I've fed them ideas and they are asking for more.

Get writing your letters, making your phone calls and, spraying bikes white.

Just an update that I'm getting a surprising amount of engagement out of Lambeth council, I've fed them ideas and they are asking for more.

Lambeth have a good team. Are you talking to Richard Ambler?

The councillor living in my street - Robert Banks, Dawn Haines, their transport policy manager and someone called, er... destrancpz3.

I'm pulling together info on the Cemex proximity warning system for them. Do they already have that and are they stringing me out per chance?

JB

I've got a largish garage in chiswick as a place to build/ spray. Probably can chuck some wedge in! can drive a van to drop off bikes etc! have access to a pick up truck so we don't need to hire....

let me know

The councillor living in my street - Robert Banks, Dawn Haines, their transport policy manager and someone called, er... destrancpz3.

I'm pulling together info on the Cemex proximity warning system for them. Do they already have that and are they stringing me out per chance?

JB

Sorry for late reply, I managed to miss this somehow--no, they wouldn't necessarily have the info on this. I've heard very good things about Dawn, she's worked on some eye-catching initiatives. Cynthia Barlow from Roadpeace obviously did the work on Cemex:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/content/articles/2007/10/02/london_cycle_deaths_12_3_feature.shtml

Do get in touch with Lambeth Cyclists, as well:

http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=734

They're a very good group and I'm sure would be happy to help.

We're doing something about this in Hackney, as well.

Thanks mr Schick. I was too damn lazy on the weekend to search for the Cemex stuff, thanks for that link. I'll be speaking to them tomorrow.

JB

has anything gone ahead with these? i dont know if it has been said already but surely a colour printer and a laminator would do the trick? and would be super cheap? just my two pennies worth! :)

Full page advert with slogan 'Never cycle on the inside of a lorry' appears on the back of the current Lambeth Life free paper. The photo shows a road-user's-eye view of a left-turning lorry with a day-glo commuter in the blind spot. Ad is sponsered by Lambeth Borough and Veolia.

I've noticed that Veolia vehicles do generally have warning signs on the back: 'Cyclists- Beware of passing this vehicle on the inside'

With this further publicity, all the more reason to chime in and swell it. I'm just starting some letter-writing now. Thanks for all the links, above folks, which I have been working my way through-it's an education.

@ Greasy Slag will try to find out stencilling/spray can options tomorrow.

Any details of the critical mass meet please?

from the southwark cyclists list:

Your chance to sit in an HGV cab....

[INDENT]London Borough of Southwark
Monday 3rd November 2008
Time: 7am - 11am
Location: St Georges Road close to the junction of West Square

Key Messages
HGV Drivers: Regular and correct mirror use, beware cyclists are vulnerable road users and may take you by surprise.
Cyclists: HGV's have large blind spots, look to make eye contact with the drivers, avoid cycling down the inside of large vehicles.

Cyclists to be made aware of the vulnerability of pedestrians and the dangers of riding on the pavement.

Other
A Dr Bike will be taking place throughout the event
The campaign will be supported by banners and education materials which will be handed out on the day.
We have emailed all of our adult cyclist trainees notifying them of the event.

Best regards

Gareth

Gareth Tuffery
Principal Road Safety Officer
Transport Planning
Chiltern House, Portland Street
London SE17 2ES

Tel: 020 7525 5566
Fax:020 7525 5683

www.southwark.gov.uk
[/INDENT]

Got some stats from TFL under FOI on HGV-related incidents this year and last.
The spreadsheet is at
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p049y-cIHzJveNMAEqtrZGg
for those interested...

...and some slides with fairly detailed data on various aspects of collisions involving cyclists, compiled and analysed by Alan Rickwood of the City of London Police:

LINK

HGV drivers for Lambeth council are receiving national standard cycle training from Cycle Training UK:
http://tinyurl.com/5vtw2x

I'll also post this to the thread about the 16-year old who was killed recently:

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread11811.html

its a shame this hasn't pulled together... i've obviously joined the community too late! I love the idea of 'ghetto' awareness raising, i think it lends the campaign a greater level of credibility, and is maybe more likely to get people to take notice? I'll be pondering a slogan all evening now!