Ghost Bikes

I got a reply:

I'm sorry to see the campaign have upset you this much, but let's get some things straight.
First of all, the campaign isn't *blaming *anyone.
There are various reasons for any accident and either way it is both the driver and the cyclists who have to be careful.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of risky cyclists on the road who are risking their lives even more by listening to their iPods while in traffic.
This is an issue no one has really paid attention to, but is apparently causing 1 in 10 traffic accidents. (!)
Most of these accidents have been caused by the cyclists not being able to hear the traffic around them.

Our only intention with the campaign was to make cyclists aware of this risk on the same level as other traffic accidents caused by cycling.
We felt that the iconic ghost bikes would translate well into these headphones and deliver the message with an impact.

At the end of the day, we only want to make people think twice about playing music while cycling in traffic.

Suchi

WA(contradictory)C.

I responded:

Thanks for getting back to me.

You say 'he was hit by a truck he couldn't hear coming'
How do you conclude that? Drivers listen to the radio in cars and don't hear what goes on around.

The onus is on the truck driver to look after people they can harm. You could have also said 'he was hit by a truck whose driver wasn't looking" I hope you find the driver and put a note on their truck 'I hit a person on a bike that i didn't see, i should look more' That would be a much better

The ghost bikes are memorials for people killed. It IS victim blaming and unhelpful

I can't work it out. Is that site actually serious? Has any of their 'work' been used? Are they just children?

It's been said before, but it's worth being said again - not being able to hear traffic does not make you more likely to die while riding in it. If that was the case then I'd be dead 100 times over, having been deaf since I was a toddler.

Maybe for their next piece they can put up ghost miniskirts around the areas where women have been raped.

Only wish I'd used the miniskirts line in my email to them

How ridiculous and unhelpful.

Headphones don't kill people, motorvehicles do.
x million.

Motor vehicles don't kill people, drivers do

Only wish I'd used the miniskirts line in my email to them

I just did in my follow up:

The difference between a driver not paying attention and a cyclists is the degree of harm to others each can cause.Very very few people are killed by people on bikes. Many (around 2,000 a year) are killed by people in cars!
(See http://www.lfgss.com/thread62209.html I am skydancer on this forum and http://rdrf.org.uk/road-danger-reduction-charter/)

In fact the value of the sense of hearing on a road is limited since electric vehicles/ buses/hybrid cars are almost silent as are other people on bikes. Seeing is much more important. Deaf people, of course can ride with low risk if they look around a lot and they can cross roads as walkers too. Alll riders should rely on sight rather than hearing

In many European countries the people who can harm, the drivers, are liable and responsible for looking out for people they can harm. What you have done is similar to saying that women shouldn't wear sexy clothing in case a man rapes them.

It's just spec work. They're trying to get placements/a job in an ad agency's creative department.

As it goes, I'm sure they didn't mean to upset anyone with their work. It may seem distasteful to us but I'm certain it's just misguided.

I actually think it's a pretty shit piece of work for a road safety campaign anyway.

If you're gonna rip off ghost bikes, I'd say 'ghost mobiles' to highlight the deaths of pedestrians walking whilst using their phone would've been more startling to Joe Public.

Sorry for saying 'Joe Public'.

I can't work it out. Is that site actually serious? Has any of their 'work' been used? Are they just children?

This pissed me off:

This is an issue no one has really paid attention to, but is apparently causing 1 in 10 traffic accidents. (!)

I'd like to see where this stat comes from?

^ me too.

We felt that the iconic ghost bikes would translate well into these headphones and deliver the message with an impact.

Ghost bikes have impact because as well as being visually distinctive, they are memorials to real people who have died. The whole idea of putting up fake memorials is deceptive. When people realise they've been lied to, they will come to doubt and distrust all the memorials they see. The fakes risk drowning out the cry of pain and loss that genuine memorials represent for those who erect them.

Quite apart from the tastelessness of this, I do wonder where they get their 'facts' from? Do they read coroners' reports without realising how biased these often are?

I bet it's not even that accurate. Bet there's a statistic of the number of people with injuries wearing headphones, without any causal link.

Out of interest can we complain to the press complaints commission about this?

Why press complaints?
It's 2 student artists doing their end of year show. The review of it is a critic's opinion. perhaps engagement with them through positve communication will change their view and they may have an artistic need to express their change of mind.

I hope they're following this thread. I sent them this link

Actually, I've just re-read their reply to Skydancer:

"Our only intention with the campaign was to make cyclists aware of this risk on the same level as other traffic accidents caused by cycling."

I doubt they've got much of a handle on the stats at all, tbh, if their conclusion (and justification) is that traffic accidents are caused by cycling.

Also, ghost bikes are 'iconic'? Fuck right off. A ghost bike isn't a fashion statement, it's a marker of a location where somebody's child/friend/spouse/parent lost their life. Calling it 'iconic' sounds like a Craig Brown parody in the Eye, for fuck's sake.

.

Also, ghost bikes are 'iconic'? Fuck right off. A ghost bike isn't a fashion statement, it's a marker of a location where somebody's child/friend/spouse/parent lost their life. Calling it 'iconic' sounds like a Craig Brown parody in the Eye, for fuck's sake.

Iconic means that an object is significant to a group of people which i suppose ghost bikes are. Their iconic significance is of memorial and sadness at unnecessary loss.

The ' artistic' act of linking any blame to the dead innocent is especially terrible because of these bikes' iconic status.

"Our only intention with the campaign was to make cyclists aware of this risk on the same level as other traffic accidents caused by cycling."

I don't particularly like ghost bikes, never mind this. It's a thoroughly disgusting and dissapointing 'campaign.'

Well done Skydancer for contacting them!

From suchi (the Artist)

I've been following your thread and must say I'm quite shocked by the response.
Again we had no intentions of upsetting anyone with our idea, it was simply our solution to a brief set by our university
which was simply to make people aware of the dangers of wearing headphones in traffic.

This is all spec work and the actual headphone in the image was taken down two seconds after the picture was taken.
It is not a real, running campaign.

I feel like these reactions are getting a bit out of hand, and to be fair I really do feel the whole thing has been misguided.
I've read your responses and I respect them.

My response:

Ok At least you stimulated discussion and perhaps have been introduced to some new ideas about road risk and danger. Perhaps as an artist you will to think about consequences of art and it's effects. Sometimes what is accpted as common sense such wearing an ipod being dangerous, has many different shades and the answer is counter-intuitive or along a spectrum of possibilities.

Don't worry about a little internet criticism it can Harden you (TF) Up

Damn it you're just too nice skydancer. I'm feeling bad for posting their site in epic fail now...

It's not about nice...it's the battle to change perceptions about risk and danger. We may have won this one with some diplomacy rather than total war
:)

This is true and it is fairly heartening to receive such a reply too. Well done to Suchi for responding.

Who is building these at the moment?

Or rather, does anyone have a bike prepared?

No bike prepared, but if parts are needed I have some I can willingly donate.