TfL halts road safety ad after ‘victim blaming’ backlash from cyclists | TfL | The Guardian
London mayor’s cycling and walking chief pauses ad showing cyclist and driver making up after collision
Mark Sweney and Sarah Butler
TfL has halted an ad campaign promoting road safety that featured a driver and cyclist making up after the latter was almost hit, following a backlash accusing the ad of “victim blaming”.
The TfL campaign, called See Their Side, was launched during Road Safety Week last month as part of the London mayor Sadiq Khan’s long-term goal of having no deaths and serious injuries on the capital’s roads by 2041.
TfL had planned that the campaign, which includes a 60-second television ad that has already been showing on channels including ITV, would run for “a number of years”, but a backlash has prompted the mayor’s cycling and walking commissioner to pause it.
