benborp
Guru
- Location
- further from Penge
The last two episodes of national media hoo-haa over cycling Youtube footage resulted in a fair amount of debate - TV, radio, on-line, newspaper and of course the water-cooler stuff. Awareness of the issue of cyclists and road safety was certainly increased by this exposure, mainly by the subsequent discussion rather than the initial TV or press piece. What was encouraging was how the quality of argument improved. Cycling correspondents and representatives were able to quickly dismiss a lot of the drivel and concentrate on the issues at hand. The second wave of media comment even led to many interviews where there was no attempt to engage in arguments over 'road tax' or RLJ. Those that did resulted in articulate cyclists laying open the ramblings of buffoons to ridicule (Adam Rayner v. Zoe Williams anybody?).
I was amazed by the number of people that approached me after all this that told me they now had a better awareness of what cyclists have to deal with. Many had gleaned a fairly accurate perception despite all the opportunities the anti-cyclists had to air their rantings. The tolerance for hate postings against cyclists on social sites seemed to diminish around that time as well.
The War on Britain's Roads is going to spark another round of high profile discussion (more than it already has!). I've heard from some sources that have seen the film that it is quite good but horribly diminished by the alleycat footage. In the current atmosphere I wouldn't be surprised if there was a re-edit. The BBC being particularly uneasy over questions over it's editorial competence at the moment. Either way, I hope there's enough substance to the programme that the cycling community can use to move the debates over education, infrastructure and government policy forwards. Even if the show is awful, while disappointing, it could be of benefit in the long run. There's not a great deal of tolerance for media balls-ups at the moment and there will be quite a few organisations, campaigns and rival media lined up to shoot it down.
Fingers crossed though that they've managed to do something a bit clever. I'll feel severely let down otherwise.
I was amazed by the number of people that approached me after all this that told me they now had a better awareness of what cyclists have to deal with. Many had gleaned a fairly accurate perception despite all the opportunities the anti-cyclists had to air their rantings. The tolerance for hate postings against cyclists on social sites seemed to diminish around that time as well.
The War on Britain's Roads is going to spark another round of high profile discussion (more than it already has!). I've heard from some sources that have seen the film that it is quite good but horribly diminished by the alleycat footage. In the current atmosphere I wouldn't be surprised if there was a re-edit. The BBC being particularly uneasy over questions over it's editorial competence at the moment. Either way, I hope there's enough substance to the programme that the cycling community can use to move the debates over education, infrastructure and government policy forwards. Even if the show is awful, while disappointing, it could be of benefit in the long run. There's not a great deal of tolerance for media balls-ups at the moment and there will be quite a few organisations, campaigns and rival media lined up to shoot it down.
Fingers crossed though that they've managed to do something a bit clever. I'll feel severely let down otherwise.
