Pittsburgh bike campaign humanizes people on bikes

Bike Pittsburgh’s eye catching Drive With Care campaign asks people in cars to drive carefully around people on bicycles, humanizing them with billboards and bus shelter ads that show everyday people with their bikes.

Bike Pittsburgh Rides a Bike ad campaign

Bike Pittsburgh created this campaign and bought the outdoor ad space to remind drivers to pass with care, drive like a grownup, and take the high road. Urban Velo editor Brad Quartuccio did the photography for this campaign.

A grant provided the initial funding for these ads, but Bike Pittsburgh asks for donations to continue the program.

Via the Path Less Pedealed.

6 Comments

  1. Wow! So much better than Denver’s blame the pedestrians and cyclists (because they are hard to see) campaign.

  2. The Canadian campaign against distracted driving is better directed, but still not correct. In PEI this summer I saw signs saying not to use your cell phone while driving. Other Canadian provinces seem to have similar programs. The problem is the campaigns are not working because they still allow hands free, and cell phone related accidents are only showing an increase. Up to 80% of all accidents are distracted driving related and most due to cell phones. Hands free did not reduced the numbers, and has been shown in studies to be just as distracting. If the old solutions are not working, its time to try something new. Rather than spend money on bill boards, it might be better spent on lobbying for a “cell phone off while engine on law”. Having the cell phone turned off while driving is the only real solution. Time to face reality. Newer cars with Bluetooth could turn the drivers phone off automatically when the engine comes on, then turn it back on when the engine turns off again. The driver can check their messages when they get to their destination.

    http://www.saferoads.com/drivers/distracted_driving_campaign.html

    https://soundcloud.com/theworld/crotches-kill-canadian

  3. I feel like Denver has a particularly strong expectation that bicycles should stay as far to the right as possible. Of course, this makes them harder to see. My guess is that the popularity of cycling on narrow, windy, two-lane mountain roads is a factor.

    (BTW, have you seen RTD’s new ads? “There’s no love like Transit Love.” Eww. Please don’t.)

  4. What I object to in the Denver campaign is that “the problem” it points out is, according to the campaign, a problem inherent in cyclists and pedestrians — they are invisible. As a bike advocate, I would never sign on to a campaign that says the problem is caused by cyclists — particularly if the problem is one inherent in being a cyclist. If the problem is something inherent in being a cyclist or pedestrian, I would expect many to support a solution that gets those folks off the roads.

    A better campaign for cyclists would be one that tells drivers to pay attention; that they are driving heavy, fast very dangerous objects; and/or that cars are responsible for incredible carnage. This is the approach that motorcycle advocates appear to take — “Look twice; save a life” put the onus on drivers. Pittsburg’s campaign says implicitly to drivers, “You might hurt real people that you should care about. You care about people just like them.” (I don’t have the book “Traffic” handy but some of the research cited in it discusses the care that drivers use when other road users are no longer anonymous.)

    I feel terrible that Bike Denver apparently signed on to this thing. The Police Department and AAA’s participation make sense, but this was a mistake for a bike advocacy group. Makes me wonder, again, if they think about these things.

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