Die-In and Vigil at TfL HQ. Public

what puts people off is that the road design isn't attractive to newbie cyclists, not that campaigning reminds people of this problem. there's been a campaigns upsurge after the spate of deaths not simply in response to the deaths themselves but in response to the outrageous victim-blaming narrative that Boris & co tried to weave around those deaths, which was far more likely to put people off than pointing t the real problem.

The biggest issue is that it discourage people whom are thinking about cycling, the title "stop murder of cyclists" give the implication that it's a lots worse than it sounded.

In addition to Ed's point, Rob, there's been a constant message put out for a few years now (long before recent deaths) by campaigners which implies that cycling is 'dangerous' (when it's a low-risk activity). Campaigners don't need to stress this, because others, who don't want people to cycle, will happily do it, anyway. Whenever the supposed 'danger' of cycling becomes so prominent as to blot out all other aspects of it (easily done), people will be discouraged from cycling (exactly in the same way as would happen with any other activity).

Invoking the demon of 'safety' in response to 'danger' is counter-productive. Most people would tell you that their homes are safe, but a huge number of life-changing 'accidents' happen in the home (simply because people spend a lot of time there), and the idea of a 'safe' environment is a myth, whether it's homes or streets you're talking about. However, the gap between the unattainable nirvana of 'safety' and reality often makes people despondent. This is why it is important to stress that we have to reduce crashes (still plenty of potential there) rather than attain 'safety'. This is not merely a conceptual nuance, but a very important practical distinction.

Campaigners must be careful neither to accidentally talk down the cause for which they are working by communicating an unrealistic image of 'danger', nor to invoke some sort of unrealistic ideal.

Obviously agree with you on the victim-blaming problem, which is the Mayor's 'dead cat' strategy to distract the public and the media from the real issues (much as the Mayor doesn't give the impression that he understands the problems very well).