City launches "Pass Bikes Safely" advertising campaign
The City of Toronto Cycling Committee (TCC), in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation, has launched an advertising campaign urging motorists to be more careful while passing cyclists.

The campaign coincides with the Calm Down, Slow Down Campaign launched by the Toronto Police which runs until December and aims to decrease the number of traffic collisions occurring daily in the city.

The Pass Bikes Safely advertisements, which will run until the end of September on recycling bins, transit vehicles and bus shelters, encourages motorists to leave at least one meter of space while passing a cyclist.

"There are more cyclists then ever on the road," said Councillor Olivia Chow, co-chair of the Toronto Cycling Committee. "We need to make motorists aware of the rules of the road so we can reduce cyclist's injuries on city streets."

A recent Bicycle Collision Study conducted in Toronto found that collisions that happen while motorists attempt to pass cyclists result in the highest number of fatalities. Factors in this type of collision are improper lane-changes and misjudged passing space.

Have you seen the poster?
For the past two months, drivers have been reminded to Pass Bikes Safely with posters on 55 transit shelters, 110 OMG boxes and on 29 bus cards.

Have you seen them? Bus cards are a new method for us to reach drivers. We chose to have cards displayed on 17 per cent of buses leaving Wilson Garage, which covers a portion of downtown and runs up into North York. We also have cards on buses leaving the Eglinton Garage which covers an are downtown and runs east into Scarborough. The campaign runs to October 9th.