Test Marketing

CycleMedia is a small educational-advertising company. Our purpose is based on the idea of teaching people en masse; and the best way to do that is advertising. Millions of businesses swear by advertising, to the tune of billions of dollars every year.

As a former teacher, I also believe that intensive, ongoing education, through advertising, can solve a great many of the problems that human societies face.

Some of the problems on our public roads occur because people are only educated once, as teenagers, about how public roads work, what is safe, what the traffic laws are, and the principles behind them. Between growing up, years passing, and laws evolving, a great deal of misunderstanding comes to exist. Motorists become lax about the driving principles they learned as teens. As humans will, selfishness sometimes come to dominate the driving experience.

In the USA, we also don't teach bicyclists how to apply vehicular rules to bicycling; not just signaling turns, but merging, changing lanes, yielding, and more. While studies show that bicycling is safer overall than motorcycling, snowmobiling, horse-riding, water skiing, swimming, soccer, and football, it can be safer still. Common, predictable mistakes account for almost all car/bike crashes, and are avoided by the most experienced cyclists through applying polite, common-sense vehicular rules to their bicycling. These Vehicular Cyclists bicycle daily, throughout their lives, in heavy traffic, without collisions.

Remedying these problems is as difficult as the problem itself. While yearly retesting of every motorist is the obvious and desirable solution, many DMV budgets are barely enough to fund existing functions, much less undertake extensive new projects. Opportunities for continuing education of drivers are few, usually expensive, or limited by state legislation.

That is why CycleMedia has developed, researched, tested, refined, and test-marketed a public-awareness educational campaign addressing the lack of understanding of basic vehicular principles used on public roads. The unique aspect of our educational outreach is that it is simple, elegant, and costs nothing beyond printing.

Our VEHICULAR CYCLING PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN is addressed primarily to motorists, but covers critical pedestrian and bicyclists issues as well. It goes beyond the usual safety messages which have reached media saturation, and are often ignored. The major points it addresses are vehicular principles which our research indicates are most commonly misunder-stood, and even unknown to many motorists and bicyclists. Even more, it is a way for road users to talk to each other: bicyclists to motorists, motorists to bicyclists, and pedestrians to motorists; to say "this is what really bothers me." *****

HISTORY, DEVELOPMENT, TESTING:

We decided to saturate-advertise these ideas to the public using my hometown of Charlottesville Va. as a test-market. Our research began with interviews of random motorists, bicyclists, and adults throughout the area, asking what bothered them most about other motorists, bicyclists, and sharing public roads in general. From that, we created a set of gradually evolving statements about public road use that reflected what most of the research interviewees most cared about, or didn't know, or felt others needing reminding of. We continued to refine the statements over a period of 6 months in further interviews.

Eventually we reached a stable level where about 75% of interviewees agreed with the statements, felt them to be fair, even-handed, spoke equally to both motorists and bicyclists, and accepted them as not only the rules of the road, but also "just common sense."

"Just common-sense" came to be an important goal in the program. It became how we want readers to view the information, making it more acceptable than the usual warning messages and "It's the Law" statements that were also tested. Former Charlottesville Police Chief J.W. Rittenhouse, an avid supporter of the test-marketing campaign, used the common-sense theme frequently with the media.

We found that the finished document must be presented carefully, intact, and with specific wording and format. It is carefully designed to address both cyclists and motorists equally - many people objected when only one group of road users was addressed. The first half needed to be addressed to motorists, so they understood that it is directed to them, and is not just a document intended for bicyclists only. The second half needed to be addressed to bicyclists so that motorists would feel it was even-handed.

The bicycling section was made into something beyond just "obey the laws". It uses the latest, science based information on bicycling safety. Vehicular Cycling is the only national standard for safe bicycling that is based upon normal vehicular behaviour; correlated with long-term analysis of traffic and safety, studies of common bicycle and car/bike crashes, and studies of how the most experienced cyclists ride year after year, their entire lives, without one. Vehicular Cycling education benefits the bicyclist on every road, in every situation, every-where they go. It is the single most effective method for increasing bicyclist safety and comfort in traffic. It is the only method that allows bicyclists full freedom; to travel anywhere they wish to go, at any time of day or night, with as much safety and comfort as motorists. Full information can be seen in the Pennsylvania Bicycle Drivers Manual at www.bicyclinglife.com .

After months of interviews, changes, and further testing, we approached area police chiefs and the county sheriff for endorsements. All of them, without exception, were so enthusiastic about it that it was agreed to make it a joint public outreach between area police and area cyclists to the general public, and it evolved into a POLICE PUBLIC MEMO.

The POLICE PUBLIC MEMO was released in July of 1999, and received full distribution during fall and winter. A press conference was held as each step was announced. The memo was distributed through local libraries, city utility bills, and via email to all 19,000 Univ. of Va. students. We did all the legwork of getting it posted in libraries, storefront windows, and on local government and university bulletin boards. Public acceptance was excellent. Several newspaper articles covered the release. A feature editorial by the largest area daily newspaper is included with this summary.

Chief Sheffield of the Univ. Police threw his whole weight into pushing the unusual mass emailing to all students through the University administration; something normally done only in emergencies. Feedback from the emailing was equally divided; some were grateful for the message, and an equal number annoyed, complaining of the bicycling-content which at that time occupied the first part of the memo. The complainants were bothered at recieving information which they thought was intended primarily for bicyclists. This has since been corrected to be more clearly addressed to motorists first, bicyclists second.

After one year of distribution, area cyclists have indicated that they feel cycling has grown more accepted in the city, and report fewer close calls and less harassment from motorists.

FOLLOW UP STEPS:

Squeezing closely past bicycists or pedestrians. Speeding in residential or business areas.
Vigilante harassment of bicyclists.

Riding at night without front and rear lights. Riding against traffic. Riding fast on sidewalks.
Riding through a red light WITHOUT stopping.
(there are many situations where bicyclists may legally proceed through a red light AFTER first stopping)

In sum, our VEHICULAR CYCLING PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN is simple to implement, inexpensive, and effective. Let us know if we can be of further advice or help.

Thank you for your time and consideration. And thank you for bicycling!