Don't Mess With Safety

Image of Death with his helmet on

Concern has been raised by the CTC and many cycling campaign groups about the Department for Transport's current cycle safety advertising targeting teenagers. The advertising material features a macabre series of images designed apparently to frighten teenagers into wearing helmets.

Whatever your view is of wearing cycling helmets, the concern is that this campaign will do more harm than good.

The key requirement is to get more people out on their bikes. The more people out there, the healthier they will be and the safer our roads will be. It is critically important that all is done in a positive and supportive way to encourage the next generation onto their bikes. This is the generation that needs to break the current trends of increasing obesity. Recent data from around Europe shows a clear link between cycle use and childhood obesity. With declining use, 17% of the UK's 15-year olds are now obese, a figure which has tripled in the last 20 years. In 2001, 46,250 people in Britain died of heart disease relating to physical inactivity.

To meet the Government's targets for improving health, reducing congestion, reducing emissions and for mitigating the effects of social exclusion, cycling needs to be encouraged as a positive, fun and healthy pursuit.

The Bristol Cycling Campaign has written to Tony Blair, Alistair Darling and Alan Milburn expressing serious concern about the current campaign and urging the government to take a more positive and constructive approach to promoting cycling.

Stuart Andrews