CYCLISTS NEED ROOM (Media Release on Bike Taupo's Road Safety Campaign)

That cyclist you just passed could be your relative, friend, workmate, doctor, dentist or your next customer. So says the Bike Taupo Advocacy Group in a major road safety advertising campaign funded by the Taupo District Council�s cycle strategy team and the Road Safety community fund. As Taupo heads into the busy summer events season, the Bike Taupo Advocacy Group hope that a combination of catchy newspaper ads, rural road signs and stickers on the local buses, all emphasising a recommended 1.5m safe passing distances between motorists and cyclists will lead to an incident free season.

Bike Taupo launched the campaign five weeks ago with newspaper ads of the mysterious kind. The new sign has now been revealed to the community and can be seen on rural roads and will soon appear on some of the local Taupo Passenger Services buses. The campaign coincides with the start of the ‘cycling’ season, the first major event being the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge.

A lot of the rural roads provide great training ground for cyclists and minimise the need to use state highways. However, they are narrow and Bike Taupo stresses that both cyclists and motorists need to be aware of each other. Cyclists should endeavour to wear high visibility clothing at all times and be aware of traffic approaching from behind merging into single file to making the passing maneuver safer. Motorists should also treat a cycle as a road user and only pass if it is clear and safe to.

Taupo District Council Road Safety Co-ordinator, Christine Hutchison, says ‘It is great that Bike Taupo is utilising major cycling events to educate both cyclists and motorists on safe cycling’.

Bike Taupo says ‘More and more people are reuniting with their bikes! Next time you are out and about count how many people cycling you see - you�ll be surprised. So lets look after each other and share with care on our roads’.