In our modern world, where the majority of humankind dwells in cities, you can’t really separate the topic of cycling from the one of motorized transport. With the immense numbers of daily traffic participants, safety, reciprocal understanding, respect, and cooperation of each road user group is in greater demand than ever.
The same way the perception of roads recently shifted towards seeing them as public places for pedestrians, motorists, cyclists or other commuters to coexist, the dialogue among these groups shifted towards the cultivation of mutual relationships. Let’s embark on a mission to do just that.
The Czech carmaker Škoda, the founder of the We Love Cycling magazine, started out as a tiny two-staffed bicycle workshop some 120 years ago so it interconnects both worlds. Therefore, we feel that we should get involved in the cyclist-motorist interactions on the road and off it, a line of thought that resulted into our newest Stay on the Safe Side campaign, which aims to better the cooperation between these two mobile groups.
After extensive research, we’ve identified 18 most burning and wide-spread bad habits that are ubiquitous among two- and four-wheeled traffic participants and which need addressing. To name a few, it’s mutual overtaking and its correct distance, “dooring”, blind spots or general visibility. The research was conducted over a period of time by Škoda’s own Traffic Safety Department experts in cooperation with, for example, the Czech police, a number of safety-focused sports gear and apparel companies, such as Garmin or POC, and prominent cycling athletes who regularly address the issues of road safety in their personal projects and activities, such as Jiří Ježek, a world-renowned Paralympic cyclist and long-term We Love Cycling ambassador. All abovementioned helped us with narrowing down and identifying the most prevalent problematic situations.
The spearheading campaign was shot on a rainy closed-off street of the Croatian city of Rijeka in November 2018, flying under the umbrella motto of “Stay on the Safe Side”. All shown action parts are demonstrated with the help of a professional stuntman, without special effects or visual tricks for better realism, and entertain a catchy visual approach that uses video game-like elements to grab the audience’s attention. The main campaign launch video, which showcases examples of different dangerous urban traffic situations, is accompanied by a series of 7 educational short-format videos, each dealing with one the most common issues of the cyclist-motorist relationship on the road, which you can watch via the link below.
Watch All Safety VideosEach video is narrated by an explanatory voiceover from our main actor, Paul the cyclist, that guides you through every individual issue from the cyclist’s point of view and gives you advice on the dos and don’ts.
The final part of the video was designed to make the audience clutch their pearls and deliver the lesson home, so it’s well worth the watch, no matter if you’re a motorist, a cyclist or both. Enjoy the videos, get back to us with feedback and, most importantly, Stay on the Safe Side!