It is great that MPI is taking the initiative to put some 60 second driver commercials together based on cycling, now all they have to do is get the message correct. In the videos, several of the riders travel too close to the curb (Can-Bike recommends a minimum of 1 meter) and in one case John Sauder rides over the catchbasin grate which would put him approximately 0.5 meters from the curb. The video also indicates that as a cyclist we should stay as "close as possible to the curb<' which is again incorrect. The HTA says that we must ride as "close a practicable" to the curb and this is totally different than what is being indicated in the commercial.
I have also reviewed the drivers handbook (as I have a young driver who recently went through the course) and it is as well indicates that cyclists are to ride "usually one-half meter from the curb." The illustrations provided showing cyclist signals show the rider with his right foot on the curb, something that again is not a safe position for any cyclist.
There is no question that both cyclists and drivers need education, however we need to make sure that the message is correct before we educate. This is part of an on going discussion that Bike to the Future is having with MPI and one can only hope that we can set them straight before they waste anymore money on commercials that provide the wrong message to drivers and cyclists.
Thanks'
Dave
From: Stacy Matwick smatwick@iisd.ca Date: 2008/08/28 Thu PM 02:35:05 CDT To: "at-network@lists.umanitoba.ca" at-network@lists.umanitoba.ca Subject: [At-network] Couple of things on Safety
Don't know if anyone but me noticed this but the other day one of MPI's Driving Tips commercials was on Bike Safety. It was one of their 60 Second Driver commercials you always see after the CTV evening news. http://www.mpi.mb.ca/English/dr_tips/BicycleSafety.html Since I don't have a car and don't deal with MPI it's a pleasant surprise to see the amount of information they do have http://www.mpi.mb.ca/English/dr_tips/60sec.html
And this from a recent Christian Science Monitor "New bike commuters hit the classroom, then the road. The rush of new cyclists, created by high gas prices, is driving up demand for bike safety classes" By Ben Arnoldy Aug. 25, 2008 http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0825/p01s01-usec.htm
Cheers Stacy Matwick Information Centre International Institute for Sustainable Development 161 Portage Ave. E., 6th floor Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 0Y4 Voice: (204)958-7755 Fax: (204)958-7710 Email: smatwick@iisd.ca Website: http://www.iisd.org "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read" Groucho Marx "Life is like a bicycle, to keep your balance your must keep on moving" Albert Einstein
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