Top tips for drivers

Cycle Training UK has produced a leaflet with some top tips for drivers about sharing the road with people on bicycles. They could be a useful way of communicating some points if you feel a driver could have driven better, without engaging an a raging 'discussion'.

If you wish to recieve some of these let me know. Iwill bring them to a Beers or to LMNH and will post here when I plan to do that.

Also post here if you think we could improve this.

This is brilliant. What we need much more of. Sensible and clear info dealing with how to share the road.

Do you think it could be made more evident that the leaflet is part of a broader campaign which also seeks to educate cyclists so that the conversation doesn't seem one way? There's also no comment on using caution when turning right across lanes of traffic where cyclists may be filtering.

Any chance of getting major papers to pick this up / run it for a few days?

Also should it not read 'many inexperienced people ride close to parked cars?

You spotted the typo wroncog. We have another flyer for cyclists which I'll post to. For balance.

the text is good, but the layout makes it really difficult to read. There is a reason why most leaflets aren't at a 45 degree angle.

Tilt the flyer and it reads very well. Obviously not easy on a monitor.

I like this. I think it's really well written.

Putting text at 45 degrees and mounting the poster at an angle is the fashion these days. Not that I dislike it; it's quite eye-catching.

Anyway.

I think they're excellent, really. How are Cycle Training UK going to disseminate this information?

I think they're excellent, really. How are Cycle Training UK going to disseminate this information?

stick them on windscreens with a cunt sticker.

david i think this is really good. i don't really know anyone who drives in london to give it to but i hope you work out how to reach the target audience

Putting text at 45 degrees and mounting the poster at an angle is the fashion these days. Not that I dislike it; it's quite eye-catching.

Anyway.

I think they're excellent, really. How are Cycle Training UK going to disseminate this information?

We're open top suggestions...
We work with many driving companies and do cyclist awreness training with their drivers.
We will be distributing these in labraries and other public places.
social networks like our FB page and Twitter

We have some media contacts. Please feel free to forward the link tothem Here http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/library/website/resources/lib0000000243.pdf

Do you think it could be made more evident that the leaflet is part of a broader campaign which also seeks to educate cyclists so that the conversation doesn't seem one way?

For balance:

Nice.

Am I right in thinking that the advice "if you can't see the mirror the driver probably can't see you" is a bit confusing as the aforementioned blind spot means he might not be able to see you even if you have a beady eye on his mirror?

^ Massively agree with this. The most dangerous places to be are where there's a very good view of the mirror, like right underneath them.

What would be more correct is "If you can't see the driver in the mirror, they can't see you".

Colour contrast is a bit difficult on the driver one: http://snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html

(text is #fff and background is #26A9E1)

I've already seen the cyclist-targeted cards in On Your Bike in Tooley Street and pilfered a bundle to hand out to people I know who have just started cycling. Good work on both.

Any chance of an internet friendly version, I don't have one of those tilt/swivel monitors :(

Also the files are jpeg for graphics?? So I can't zoom in to even try and read the content.

Depending on how this is going to be distributed to drivers, they may be more likely to read it if it has the car tips on one side and the bike tips on the other. That way it will come over as a more balanced road-saftey "let's all look out for each other" campaign and they won't be able to get on their stroppy war-on-the-motorist high horse about it.

I think it's nice and clear but a bit repetitive. For example, point 1 is "Give cyclists room" but the first sentence of point 4 (Overtake considerately) is "Give cyclists room when overtaking" and point 8 is "Give cyclists swerving room". Maybe you could boil it down (in the interests of fitting both car and bike tips on one leaflet to:

• Give cyclists room: Even experienced cyclists may have to swerve to avoid hazards so give them at least as much room as you would give a car. If there isn't room to overtake with plenty of space, considering hanging back. In fact...
  
• Be patient: Cyclists often go faster than you think and there are plenty of other things on the road that will slow you down. So think about whether you really need to overtake a cyclist immediately, especially if you are approaching a junction or queue of traffic where you will have to slow down anyway.
  
• Understand cyclists road positioning: Cyclists are often safer in the middle of the road where they are more visible and out of the way of the doors of parked cars and pedestrians stepping off the pavement. They are not trying to annoy you, just trying to stay safe. Likewise, cyclists are not obliged to use bikes lanes and these are often poorly positioned or badly maintained.
  
• Watch your door: Take a second to look our for cyclists before getting out of your vehicle as inexperienced cyclists may cycle too close to parked cars.
  
• Understand cyclists better: Things feel different on a bike from in a car. The best way to understand how to drive around cyclists is to have a go on a bicycle. If you haven't ridden your bike in a while, consider a lesson [cycle lesson link].
  
  

I don't know if that's better or worse since the repeated messages of the original may serve to hammer the points home. Also, my version doesn't cover left-hooking. Perhaps you could have a small diagram of how that's a particular hazard.

Thanks all for these suggestions. I really like the idea of both on the same card and we'll look into this when we do the reprint. I am going to meet TfL today and show them to see if they will support these.

We do have them on the website on thios page
http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/index.php?pg=126#.UFxJsq6BxBk
Though we should make them more user friendly as the pdfs are huge.

Will keep you posted

Great poster bump

How about flyering cars? No idea how good that is or giving them out in the traffic to people?

Oh and one with this is the highway code you oxygen thief.

Don't flyer cars. Everyone hates it. If you don't remove it on time it mache's to the windscreen and most folks throw car leaflets on the floor in anger = litter.

This could be successful, but I agree with ffm. Few people are going to pay attention if they think you're telling THEM what to do. Present both sides of the argument next to each other (more than on the flipside from each other) and they're more likely to see that there is give and take.

It will also have the effect that one party will have a better idea of what to complain about the other not doing!

I like the idea of combining the car/bike leaflets. Also ffm makes some good points but his/her 3rd point is a bit of a mouth-full

alternatively, one could just use one of these stickers

1 Attachment

• iDrive70x35.pdf

Oh and one with this is the highway code you oxygen thief.

This is a good thing, I believe, but aren't all these points in the highway code? This is suppose to be your driving handbook and if you look at advanced driving techniques they all make these points too.

It angers/upsets me as a driver that these points have to be made clear. But then again these same people get on a bike and are just as bad.

You're right lynx about many of these points being highway code points and many drivers in London keep to these. Some don't though, and it is those drivers who make the experience of riding feel hazardous to some. This puts people off riding, or encourages riding in a manner that makes them more at risk.

When people on a 'bike ... are just as bad' the effect on others is less harmful.