DfT poster: “You can never give a bike too much room”

In 1985, the Department of Transport (when it was still “of” and not “for”, and long after it had been the Ministry of Transport) erected a poster in London with a real elongated bicycle, telling passing motorists that “You can never give a bike too much room.”

But as is clear from this piece on BBC1’s John Craven’s Newsround, the rest of the campaign was filled with standard fare, much of it victim blaming: “If you’re going to use the road, use your eyes” and “Dead. Obvious.”

Try and ignore the fact reporter Roger Finn said 100 cyclists were killed each day (he should have said about 100+ were killed each year) and listen to what Tim [Feeby?] of London Cycling Campaign said:

“We need cycle lanes on main roads, crossing of the major roads, and [the Department of Transport] has to stop building massive motorways in urban areas which will make conditions worse for everybody, not just cyclists.”

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Hat-tip. @nuttyalexander

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The Kickstarter for Bike Boom runs until March 17th. Please consider pledging for first-edition rewards and more.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/carltonreid/bike-boom-the-book

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