Pro Cycling Advert Banned in Scotland

[LessMissAbs]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25926572

Without getting into a cyclist-hate argument (not straightaway anyway), thoughts on this? OTT? Have we really come to the stage where we have mass hysteria and banning over an innocent photo of a woman riding a bike, in a perfectly legal manner, when as a country the UK is beset by lifestyle diseases and much worse happens on the roads every day?

And there were only 5 complaints...

And won't this sort of attitude encourage harassment of people out cycling?

That's just shocking. With the helmet thing, I can sort of understand where they are coming from, though I still disagree. But there is no way that the cyclist should be closer to the pavement than that in a residential area, especially with a road that wide!

Did I hear that the decision has been reversed?

It's under review, I just read. Bit shocking whole thing.

I think the ASA got it wrong. Cyclists are not (yet) required to wear a helmet so the ad didn't need to show an adult woman wearing one. I liked that she was wearing ordinary clothes, not cycling gear.

The ban has been removed while an "independent review" is carried out as the ASA think there may be a flaw in their decision making process.

You couldn't make it up. How anyone could object to a woman riding a bike along a road, I don't know.

The ASA are right, that man should be wearing a helmet, his car could probably go over 70, it's old and has no roof.

I think it is irresponsible that the woman on the bike is not wearing a helmet. But I wouldn't complain about it.

They also objected to the fact that she was riding further out from the kerb than they thought necessary, and that the car had gone into the opposite lane, this giving her a wide, safe, berth while overtaking.

Very

Nobody is breaking the law, nor any social taboos, nor doing anything offensive in that ad.

While I support the work of the ASA on general, I think they have got a bit above themselves on this one.

I think an advert for cycling really should show the use of a helmet. I remember the case of teenage cyclist Ryan Smith, who suffered serious head injuries after being involved in a crash on his bike while not wearing a cycle helmet because he didn't want to mess up his hair. It is important to promote safe cycling to young people and set a responsible example.

Maybe the next ad should show someone with a helmet on bumping over all the drains and crap in the gutter?

Given the width of the road, the cyclist is a fair way from being the centre!

ASA needs a kick up the arse....

But it's not an advert for cycling!

It's an ad for drivers, to raise awareness of the vulnerability of cyclists and the importance of giving them road-space.

Hence it is appropriate.

I can kind of see both points of view.

I think it is important for children watching tv to see people wearing a helmet while watching someone riding a bike otherwise they may argue reasons not to wear one. The more often it's seen, the more likely people are to wear them!

As has been said it's not a pro cycling ad.The ad is supposed to make drivers treat cyclists the same as they would horses.
Given that 2 horses and a rider were killed in Scotland about two weeks ago maybe they should be raising driver awareness of ALL other road users

To be honest if they're trying to raise cycling awareness why not kill two birds with one stone? Raise cyclists awareness of safety gear (helmet/ HiViz/ lights/ other safety gear) and raise drivers awareness of cyclists.

Especially if they are trying to compare a bicycle to a horse. A bicycle doesn't have a mind of its own and will not shoot sideways into traffic when it becomes terrified of a flower it has passed 60 million times before glares at my horse

Grinch I thought for a minute you meant someone falling off and bumping their head along the tarmac.

Which is what they usually show for us bikers!