As FTA continues their cycling safety campaign they were pleased to support the InTANDEM Competition - 'Design a safer cycling sign', launched earlier this year which challenged designers to create a new warning symbol to reduce large vehicle and cycle collisions.
The contest was open to all road users and received huge response from entries, with the first prize going to Huw Gwilliam, who will be presented with his £1000 prize at Westminster Palace, London on Monday 25th June, 2012 by Julian Huppert, Cambridge MP.
Sponsored by 'How's My Driving' (www.howsmy.co.uk), the UK's first driving feedback service for conscientious drivers; the competition was for a new design which would remind drivers to be extra vigilant in their watch for riders and warn cyclists that extra care is needed when passing along the inside of large vehicles.
FTA sees the competition as a significant milestone in its cycling safety campaign and development of the Cycling Code launched in 2011. The Association has long seen the need for a universally recognised sign warning cyclists to stay away from large vehicles.
The challenge was for entrants to come up with a design that would be visible from a distance and would alert to the hazard but would fit in the restricted space available at the rear of the vehicles.
James Hookham - Managing Director of Policy and Communications said: "We congratulate Huw on incorporating a lot of information into a small space that remains clear and intelligible at a distance. He has captured the risks of cycling too close to turning vehicles in a simple but effective design.
Hookham added: "Many companies already have their own cycling safety messages on their vehicles and we hope over time that this design will come to be recognised by cyclists everywhere as an aid to their safety."