The Luas 'Be Tram Aware' cycle safety campaign has just been turned on itself. Simple but spectacular.
A very clever person on boards.ie (a phrase you don't hear too often - Ed) has just turned the Luas 'be tram aware' cycle safety poster on itself.
The new posters have been springing up around Dublin as the Cross City Luas network prepares to become operational.
It features a graphic of a cyclist accompanied by the words: 'Unlike your bike, a tram needs time to stop. Be Tram Aware'.
The piss-take version uses exactly the same artwork but replaces the slogan with: 'Unlike your bike, Luas Trams eat babies. Be Tram Aware'.
Its simplicity is its genius. It pokes fun at Luas's chronic, and baseless, messaging to cyclists of late.
This is the original poster, with the piss-take version at the top of the story (just in case you need that pointed out - Ed)
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The handy work taking the piss out of the latest Luas attempt to ensure cyclists are more 'tram aware' comes as Luas is trying to increase awareness among cyclists of its new trams.
However, its messaging has badly missed the spot so far.
Luas wobbly "cycle safety" campaign
The good people of Luas have launched this poster campaign hot on the heels of a new cycle safety video.
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That video campaign raised more than a few eyebrows. It was titled ‘Luas and irresponsible cyclist behaviour’.
And the messaging with the cycling video told the public that if a tram they were travelling on was forced to emergency brake, it could be because of a cyclist.
Luas encouraged members of the public to share the video with cyclists they knew.
However, videos for motorist and pedestrian 'tram awareness' had neutral titles. They were: ‘Luas motorist safety 2.5 min video’ and ‘Luas pedestrian safety video’ respectively.
There was no link between Luas emergency braking and the actions of motorists or pedestrians.
And there was also no call for members of the public to seek out motorists or pedestrians they knew to show them the videos.
It then emerged the very pointed messaging on the cycling video had been framed despite cyclists having the best safety record with the Luas.
Last year, Luas was involved in 23 contacts with vehicles, three contacts with pedestrians and two with cyclists.
And in the area of emergency braking – which Luas has linked only to cyclists in its safety campaign – the figures are even more pronounced.
In 2016 Luas was forced to emergency brake 206 times during incidents with vehicles, 131 times in cases related to pedestrians and 31 times because of cyclists.
Luas video titles & messages
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