“Electric cars still kill pedestrians”: Tyre Extinguishers respond to claims that they mistakenly targeted electric car; Ford removes “don’t drive it, aim it” ad after backlash; Pinot on Nadal; Wiebes wins again; Wout was that? + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Ford removes controversial “don’t drive it, aim it” ad after online backlash
Yesterday on the blog we reported that car giant Ford, recently announced as a major partner of RideLondon, came in for some flak online for a controversial marketing campaign which encouraged customers not just to drive their cars, but “aim” them.
Car companies have long promoted their products in an assertive and aggressive way, encouraging drivers to “be in control” and to “own the road”.
But Ford may have set a new low in openly marketing their cars as weapons. pic.twitter.com/NsSqV8VZis
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) June 5, 2022
The ad – which some Twitter users claimed was a reference to racing drivers ‘aiming’ for the apex of a corner – was described by the West Midlands’ cycling and walking commissioner Adam Tranter as a “new low”.
“Car companies have long promoted their products in an assertive and aggressive way, encouraging drivers to ‘be in control’ and to ‘own the road’,” Tranter wrote on Twitter.
“But Ford may have set a new low in openly marketing their cars as weapons.”
Referring to Ford’s new ‘Park the Car’ initiative, which aims to encourage drivers to cycle or walk for short journeys, Tranter continued: “It’s an interesting strategy for a company aiming to earn goodwill by promoting their support of people walking and cycling, the modes of transport most in danger of the weaponisation of cars.”
Last night, Ford contacted the cycling and walking commissioner to inform him that the offending advert has now been removed.
The motoring firm also acknowledged that when “taken out of context, the language used on this particular advert can be misinterpreted.”
Update: Ford have contacted me and have now removed the advert question, providing this statement. https://t.co/gspe9scWHs pic.twitter.com/m0N4aefGQu
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) June 6, 2022
Ford said in a statement: “We want to reassure you that nothing is more important to us than the safety of all road users and, though initiatives like our long-established Share the Road programme, we have been working to promote safer, more harmonious roads that specifically focus on cyclist safety.
“It is true that, taken out of context, the language used on this particular advert can be misinterpreted. We have taken action to remove it immediately and are working closely with our colleagues to ensure this is avoided in the future.”
While some praised Ford’s speedy response, others weren’t as convinced:
Great result.
Credit where it’s due to Ford. They dealt with the issue considerably faster than TfL did regarding their ‘car-crash’ of an advert.
— Jim Smithson (@BoredBrummie) June 6, 2022
“I’m sorry you were offended”
— The Ranty Highwayman (@RantyHighwayman) June 7, 2022
Well done for getting this action from @forduk . Language IS important. Now we need to get the Police to stop saying a car and pedestrian collided when the truth is a person was struck/hit.
— The Future Mrs O (@girlonabrompton) June 7, 2022
Excellent work.
“…taken out of context…”
I’m struggling to see what context would be appropriate for this sort of advertising copy. Maybe… 👇 pic.twitter.com/cQ5POQrsSA
— KarlOnSea (@KarlOnSea) June 6, 2022
To those saying ‘Well Done Ford’ have a word with yourselves. Nothing in this tagline was done well, and it should never have made it past the first hurdle for a vehicle on a road with ‘you aim it’ The fact no one at the car company saw the problem, speaks volumes !
— ConfidentCyclists (@ConfidentCyc) June 6, 2022
You love to see it...
A few seconds of the De Beauvoir morning rush hour. You love to see it ❤️ #hackney #LTN pic.twitter.com/7IJjzxLxMX
— Bob From Accounts 🚲 (@BobFromAccounts) June 7, 2022
“How are you feeling?” “Dead” – Brad on a Bike, Vuelta ’83-style
Bring this back @gcntweet Get Wiggo on the case. Be good in time trials too. 😂😂 https://t.co/2iddCnrbAE
— Simon Warren (@100Climbs) June 7, 2022
I know he’s fond of chatting to riders at the back of the bunch (often in the wrong language), but I’m not sure even Sir Brad of Wiggins could pull off this kind of onboard interview technique…
The new Trek Madone: a story in two YouTube comments
The radical new Madone, with its funky aero frame, has certainly divided opinion within the cycling community, if the comments under Liam’s video report from the Dauphiné are anything to go by…
“Electric vehicles still kill pedestrians”: Tyre Extinguishers respond to claims that they “mistakenly” targeted electric car owned by former BP chief executive
Not a “mistake”, @Daily_Express – electric vehicles still pollute the air, kill pedestrians and we can’t electrify our way out of a car-caused crisis.
Also, @LordJohnBrowne is a climate criminal who deserves to have his tyres deflated every day. https://t.co/FbVAQkRjc4
— The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) June 6, 2022
Tyre Extinguishers, the direct-action group calling for SUVs to be banned from cities, have responded to an article in the Daily Express which claimed that the activists “attacked the tyres of an electric car by mistake”.
Members of the group, who spoke to us in April for an episode of the road.cc Podcast, use dried lentils to deflate tyres of the vehicles to draw attention to their campaign.
Over the weekend, the Express reported that John Browne (that’s Baron Browne of Madingley to you), BP’s chief executive between 1995 and 2007, found that the tyres on his Mercedes SUV had been deflated by the campaigners last month.
A note wedged under the car’s windscreen read: “Attention — your gas guzzler kills.
“We have deflated one or more of your tyres. You’ll be angry, but don’t take it personally.
“It’s not you, it’s your car. Psychological studies show SUV drivers are more likely to take risks on the roads. SUVs are unnecessary, and pure vanity.”
“We were appalled, because our car is electric,” Lord Browne said.
“And what if we had needed to use it for an emergency — to go to hospital or something? It is right to tackle climate change, but this is the wrong way to go about it.”
Tyre Extinguishers, however, have since responded to the article to confirm that the incident was “not a mistake”.
The group posted on Twitter: “Electric vehicles still pollute the air, kill pedestrians and we can’t electrify our way out of a car-caused crisis.
“Also, Lord John Browne is a climate criminal who deserves to have his tyres deflated every day.”
The group, which has no centralised structure and is active around the world, encourages people to get involved with its campaign by undertaking their own direct actions and leaving a leaflet, downloadable from their website, to explain to owners of the vehicles why their tyres have been deflated and to highlight the effect of SUVs on the planet.
The Queen’s Head (on Strava)
Just when you thought a bicycle-propelled Red Arrows display couldn’t be topped, road.cc reader, bike builder and Strava art creator (yep, that’s a thing) Nicolas sent us this hugely impressive and frankly terrifying image of the Queen’s head mapped out by bike over London.
Nicolas was taking part in Rapha London RCC’s jubilee-inspired checkpoint challenge but, instead of limiting himself to the prescribed 50-kilometre route, decided to go above and beyond in the name of the Platty Joobs, clocking up over 320km during a non-stop 20-hour ride to draw this massive postage stamp.
Fair play Nicolas. I can’t say I fully understand why you did it, but fair play.
Can’t stop the beat at the Women’s Tour
After yesterday’s chaotic, stressful and pretty controversial opening stage, the Women’s Tour peloton will be hoping for a more serene loop around Harlow today – though by the looks of things at the moment, the pace is starting to ramp up on the rolling roads.
Team Coop-Hitec Products, meanwhile, are intent on winning the hearts of cycling and dance fans (like myself) everywhere…
💃 @Hitec_Products just can’t stop dancing!#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/sAK24bIR0t
— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 7, 2022
Red-hot Wiebes storms to Women’s Tour stage
Pure speed 🔥 @lorenawiebes
#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/gqM9Tss02T— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 7, 2022
You can’t keep a top rider down for long.
Team DSM’s Lorena Wiebes made up for sliding off on the final corner yesterday by returning to winning ways in emphatic fashion on stage two of the Women’s Tour in Harlow today.
The Dutch sprinter benefitted from a textbook lead out from her team, before instantly gapping her rivals with an explosively powerful burst with 200 metres to go, comfortably beating Barbara Guarischi and Shari Bossuyt into second and third respectively.
Lorena Wiebes (@TeamDSM) wins stage two of the Women’s Tour in Harlow 🏆#WomensTour #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/0YM7DxikST
— The Women’s Tour (@thewomenstour) June 7, 2022
Wiebes has certainly cemented herself as the sport’s dominant sprinter during what has been a sensational 2022 so far.
Of the 20 race days the DSM rider has taken part in this year, she’s won eight of them (and don’t forget the overall GC at the RideLondon Classique).
Not too shabby, eh?
With a few more opportunities for bunch kicks left in this year’s Women’s Tour, don’t bet against Wiebes continuing her relentlessly impressive streak.
'Look at that full-kit wa-... oh wait, it's Romain Bardet'
Special guest @dauphine : @romainbardet came to cheer on his mates #Dauphiné pic.twitter.com/SqECzZrq0T
— seb piquet (@sebpiquet) June 7, 2022
Alaphilippe looks like he’s been enjoying himself since his crash at LBL too…
Waiting for Gaudu: French rider wins as Van Aert does ‘an Alaphilippe’ by celebrating too early
Premature celebrations! 😲🤯
Wout van Aert thinks he’s done enough to win Stage 3 of the Critérium du @dauphine – but @DavidGaudu steals it on the line 📸#Dauphiné | @GroupamaFDJ pic.twitter.com/c7ZUtvXqwL
— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 7, 2022
David Gaudu continued France’s successful start to the Critérium du Dauphiné by pipping Wout van Aert on the uphill drag to the line in Chastreix-Sancy, after the Jumbo-Visma rider was found guilty of raising his arms too early.
Or ‘doing an Alaphilippe’, as it’s known in the biz.
Despite his premature celebration, Van Aert has regained the yellow jersey he lost to Alexis Vuillermoz yesterday, and now sits six seconds ahead of Groupama-FDJ’s Gaudu, whose build up to the Tour de France looks to be gaining momentum after a smart, perfectly timed victory.
But now on to today’s most important concern – all the ‘Wout were you thinking?’ jokes and memes, currently spreading rapidly across the internet…
(And don’t let the fact that Gaudu would have won anyway spoil a good gag…)
Oh Wout 🙌
Gaudu wins 👏#Dauphine pic.twitter.com/xf7l9Yt0JQ— pro cycling trumps (@procycletrumps) June 7, 2022
Roglic is always right. pic.twitter.com/v6Ubs00Rzs
— Cycling out of context (@OutOfCycling) June 7, 2022
Classy team work from Jumbo Visma to get van Aert in the perfect position to celebrate too soon. #Dauphine
— Michael Hutchinson (@Doctor_Hutch) June 7, 2022
Bollocksed it.
Alaphilippe’d himself
— Cillian Kelly (@irishpeloton) June 7, 2022
the duality of man pic.twitter.com/9hnxme7FtQ
— robyn (@robynjournalist) June 7, 2022
These Jumbo-Visma riders are getting into a habit of celebrating Gaudu victories…#Dauphine pic.twitter.com/EmOtsDqRf1
— Will Newton (@InsidePeloton96) June 7, 2022
Wout van Aert, 2022, updated:
17 race days
12 times in the top 3.
4 wins.
1 early celebration. https://t.co/CtA41kH9MM— Daniel Lloyd (@daniellloyd1) June 7, 2022
More famous faces on the side of the road...
Top fans out to watch @thewomenstour today, supporting @sammie_stuart as she flew solo through the Essex lanes @MarkCavendish #WomensTour #camsbasso2022 pic.twitter.com/WSIpJU4Up1
— CAMS-Racing (@CAMS_BassoBikes) June 7, 2022
“If a cyclist does the same thing, it’s already forbidden”: Pinot and Martin speak out against Nadal injections
“Today’s heroes…”: Thibaut Pinot and Guillaume Martin question Rafael Nadal’s use of anaesthetic injections during French Open
“We see too many athletes using this kind of practice in recent weeks,” said the Groupama-FDJ riderhttps://t.co/FiwqB0v9qw #cycling
— road.cc (@roadcc) June 7, 2022
As French cycling royalty speaks out against the King of Clay’s use of injections during the French Open (to the extent that Nadal claimed he couldn’t feel his foot during his emphatic final victory over Casper Ruud on Sunday), what’s your stance on needles in sport?
Should injections be used to treat injuries, either as one-off emergencies or in the consistent, long-term manner seemingly favoured by Nadal and the likes of Steven Gerrard while he was at Liverpool?
Or do you agree with Martin and Pinot that if an athlete requires an injection to compete, they shouldn’t be competing at all? (Never mind needing to numb the source of the pain so much that you can’t even feel it…)
Perhaps you’re slightly confused that someone who apparently needs industrial quantities of cortisone to walk can still – at the age of 36 – dominate one of his sport’s biggest events?
Or do you reckon the French duo’s comments smack of ‘people in glass houses…’
Let us know!
Ford ‘Aim It’ ad pulled – reader reaction
Try as I might, I just can’t find that 1984 Toyota ad anywhere…
It’s almost as though, bubbling deep in the cesspit subconscious of people who make car ads, there’s a compulsion to admit that they’re selling machines that can and do kill people.
This Ford ad’s not the worst though. That title must surely go to Toyota for the 1984 billboard that featured a Celica Supra being fired out of or alongside a handgun and the slogan ‘The trigger is under your right foot’.
I mean the bigger problem with the Ford story is that, even taken in the “correct” context, i.e. aim for the apex, it uses language associated with racing and driving in a manner which is reckless and inappropriate for city streets.
Add onto that the picture is a car going round a right-hand bend such that it order to hit the apex (at least in the UK) the driver would have to be FULLY ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD then you reach the inevitable conclusion that even taken in the intended context it is a god awful advert that should be appropriately punished.
Personally I know nothing about ‘aiming for the apex’, whatever that is, as I don’t follow motor sport. To me, and probably to many other people, the word ‘aiming’ implies a weapon such as a gun being aimed. Also, vehicles have been used as weapons in terrorist attacks where they were aimed at streets full of pedestrians. I think it was a poorly-worded advert and it’s right that it’s been pulled.
And last word, from a Ford fanatic:
Oh, please. This is so silly.
— MJK_ToTheRight (@MJK_ToTheRight) June 7, 2022
7 June 2022, 08:27
7 June 2022, 08:27
7 June 2022, 08:27
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Latest Comments
Sadly yes, the UCI does need to apply some thought before this all gets to the peleton. It can't be caught banning rider protection, but we can definitely predict: - Some riders seeing airbags as a reason to take risks that they previously would have avoided. - Rules around what happens to a rider when their airbag actually deploys (rather than the dodgy head impact roadside checks we currently see, it would allow a clean 'your out rule' - but teams are never going to like that, especially in multiday races (probably part of why the head impact accelerometers used in other sports haven't appeared in cycle helmets)). - Teams using them as a method to also sneak in aerodynamic advantages. Without some rules it will turn into an all out design war with rider cooling and actual effectiveness of the airbags taking a rear seat). - Cost. Arguments about what happens when some of a race have airbags but not all. Does it need to be mandated as all or none, and if so, at what level of racing?
Note that Deda measures handlebars outside to outside. So you need to deduct 2cm to obtain the center to center width for each listed size.
Well in a sense, it ended up being their own money they wasted, and presumably they are a tax payer, so maybe the software knew what it was doing to start with.
Victims, not witnesses, have the right to know.
Apologies for the misplaced apostrophe in taxpayers', voice recognition software does its thing once again. PLEASE can we have the edit function back?
Good to see the Mini driver got nearly £1000 of costs on top of the fine and points, maybe they will think twice in future about wasting court time and taxpayer's money when they are so clearly bang to rights. This smacks of the usual defence lawyer stratagem of taking it to court in the hope that the witness won't show up.
This is the case for many pieces of cycling infrastructure IME - they are not actually that safe or at least not safer than riding on the road with the other traffic, often due to poor design. However, they make many inexperienced people FEEL much safer, and that is apparently more important than reality. Fortunately, just getting more people on bikes does make cycling safer for everyone who is cycling, and this seems to have worked in this case. Therefore, in a very roundabout way, having this infrastructure in place does increase overall safety. Of course, it would be even better if the infrastructure was done right / intelligently and did directly improve safety, but we can't have everything. Small steps.
In other words, they aren’t interested in preventative policing In other, other words: Get yourself KSI'd and we'll see what we can do Disclaimer: ...unless any motorist objects on the grounds of 'war against the motorist', or the cyclist swears while being hit etc. etc.
Yes, that matches my experience with reporting to Kent Police over the last 4 years (they were more responsive before that, during a period when video could be uploaded as part of the initial report). In email communication I had with them in 2022, they confirmed that they deprioritise any report that does not state that a collision occurred. In other words, they aren't interested in preventative policing.
So that when you are at the side of the road in a heap on the ground after being mowed down and the indicator is still flashing the police can ignore it?
22 thoughts on ““Electric cars still kill pedestrians”: Tyre Extinguishers respond to claims that they mistakenly targeted electric car; Ford removes “don’t drive it, aim it” ad after backlash; Pinot on Nadal; Wiebes wins again; Wout was that? + more on the live blog”
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Hirsute been hacked?
Hirsute been hacked?
I’m just spamming the forums
I’m just spamming the forums !
Take a look at the “latest
Take a look at the “latest forum topics” too
I saw those, just wondered if
I saw those, just wondered if he had also been hacked.
Mods have awakened. Pretty
Mods have awakened. Pretty sure there was a comment about travellers that got removed too !
Yup – all forum topics tidied
Yup – all forum topics tidied up now
Yes that was fast. I saw
Yes that was fast. I saw Dnnnn had replied to something in that topic on the front page, but when I clicked on it to see what, it was gone.
Maybe off-topic, but anyone
Maybe off-topic, but anyone know where I can watch live boxing?
Have you asked Jerry ?
Have you asked Jerry ?
I mean the bigger problem
I mean the bigger problem with the Ford story imho is that, even taken in the “correct” context, i.e. aim for the apex, it uses language associated with racing and driving in a manner which is wreckless and inappropriate for city streets.
Add onto that the picture is a car going round a right hand bend such that it order to hit the apex (at least in the UK) the driver would have to be FULLY ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD then you reach the inevitable conclusion that even taken in the intended context it is a god awful advert that should be appropriately punished.
Carior wrote:
Definitely reckless, would love it if drivers were wreckless.
Personally I know nothing
Personally I know nothing about ‘aiming for the apex’, whatever that is, as I don’t follow motor sport. To me, and probably to many other people, the word ‘aiming’ implies a weapon such as a gun being aimed. Also, vehicles have been used as weapons in terrorist attacks where they were aimed at streets full of pedestrians. I think it was a poorly-worded advert and it’s right that it’s been pulled.
It’s almost as though,
It’s almost as though, bubbling deep in the cesspit subconscious of people who make car ads, there’s a compulsion to admit that they’re selling machines that can and do kill people.
This Ford ad’s not the worst though. That title must surely go to Toyota for the 1984 billboard that featured a Celica Supra being fired out of or alongside a handgun and the slogan ‘The trigger is under your right foot’.
Is telling us that Strava art
Is telling us that Strava art is a thing still a thing?
Shocking moment car SMASHES
Shocking moment car SMASHES into bike as cyclist crosses the road – so who is in the right?
https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/18804867/car-smash-cyclist-road-right/
There’s a video there, if anyone is interested.
The video is unclear on whether that road is a footpath or a blue badged shared path, and the cyclist is (IMO) travelling too fast and was blocked from sight for hard-pressed family-man motorist Mr Payne by a van parked for roadworks, but I thought everyone is supposed to approach junctions carefully – something in the HC about people crossing or about to cross having priority…?
Looks like just a footpath on
Looks like just a footpath on Google maps, but its confusing because the path quickly turns into a shared path setup the direction that guy was riding in and coming from, as part of NC22, it’s just not a shared path in the between bit he was on.
But its confusing I think because theyve stuck the “helpful” this is NC22 route sign on a lamppost right where your eyeline takes you towards using the path not the road you are supposed to be using but there looks precious little other indication of the route you should follow. In theory it looks like you should be where the other cyclist in the video is riding out. But why would you do that if the footpath is the more direct route and ‘traffic free’.
Probably daft to ride and not check if stuff was turning in there given the van blocks your view and general busy road noise would block any sound of vehicle approaching , but classic example of parking your van so as not to inconvenience people on the roads, but create potentially dangerous situations for people using the path instead. It could easily have been a mobility scooter or wheelchair user as a cyclist
“Over the weekend, the
“Over the weekend, the Express reported that John Browne (that’s Baron Browne of Madingley to you), BP’s chief executive between 1995 and 2007, found that the tyres on his Mercedes SUV had been deflated by the campaigners last month.”
“We were appalled, because our car is electric,” Lord Browne said.”
Maybe Tyre Extinguishers could issue a Boris apology?
“We’re sorry, really sorry, no we really are sorry, very sorry, extremely sorry repeated ad nauseum. That we got caught.”
Quote:
The Tyre Extinguishers started their campaign in March, targeting SUVs in some of London’s wealthiest postcodes
Or, John Browne’s 4WD lies immobile in Belgravia?
Tyre extinguishers, what an
Tyre extinguishers, what an epic band of lentil brained idiots most likely to increase suv sales out of spite.
No – that doesn’t really work
No – that doesn’t really work as a next line – it needs to be at least vaguely similar to “but his soul goes marching on”.
I mean I know mine scanned poorly, but yours isn’t even close.
mdavidford wrote:
The arsehole goes driving on?