Lee Peck Media client Lucketts Group is using its involvement in a brand-new cycling event to make the South’s roads a safer place for cyclists.
The coach firm, a strong advocate for road safety, will make a stand for cyclists at Vélo South, a new closed road 100 mile sportive starting from Goodwood Motor Circuit on September 23.
Lucketts has teamed up with Project Pictogram to distribute car stickers at the event which encourage drivers to give riders plenty of space when passing on the roads. With 15,000 cyclists taking part and even more spectators expected to line the streets, the campaign has the potential to reach tens of thousands of people across West Sussex.
Ian Luckett, director at Lucketts Group and a keen cyclist himself, said: “As a company that has hundreds of coaches out across the south we feel we have a real responsibility for making the roads a safer place. We already display Project Pictogram stickers on all of our coaches, urging fellow drivers to think about road safety, and we hope to use our involvement in Vélo South to spread that message even further, in particular in relation to looking out for cyclists.”
Drivers asked to pass wide
Lucketts, official coach partner for Vélo South, will hand out the ‘pass wide’ stickers to riders and their friends and family at the event and registration day. The stickers show a car overtaking a cyclist and encourage drivers to leave at least 1.5 metres’ space when overtaking. People are encouraged to place the stickers in a safe place in their rear car windows to show their commitment to ‘pass wide’ and encourage others to do the same.
Jon Ridgeon, Chairman of CSM Active, which organises the event said: “We’re thrilled to hear that the Lucketts team is using its involvement in the event to shout about road safety. We wholeheartedly support the call for drivers to make sure they give cyclists enough space when they pass them on the roads. Cycling is an incredibly fun sport and by all working together we can make sure it’s even safer.”
Lucketts has a long association with promoting road safety. It was the first coach firm to support Project Pictogram, placing road safety stickers on its fleet of more than 130 coaches. The standard set of vehicle stickers communicate the dangers of the ‘fatal four’: inappropriate speed; using a mobile phone while driving; not wearing a seatbelt and drink/drug driving, as well as the importance of maintaining a safe distance from other road users.
Longstanding commitment to road safety
Phil Palfrey from Project Pictogram said: “Lucketts has supported Project Pictogram stickering on its fleet since our launch in 2015 and has encouraged other fleets to get involved. Over the years they have effectively donated hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of back door advertising space to the promotion of these key road risk reduction messages. With Ian Luckett’s keen personal interest in cycling, this new pictogram was a natural development of our core ‘space’ message. It supports the efforts of road safety groups nationally in promoting a minimum pass gap of 1.5m, and helps keep the message visible on-the-road on-every-journey.”
Vélo South takes place on September 23 and will see 15,000 cyclists set off from Goodwood Motor Circuit for a 100-mile closed road sportive. Riders will have the unique opportunity to travel through the Goodwood Estate and through the county of West Sussex. Featuring rolling countryside, panoramic views, picturesque villages and iconic climbs, the route showcases the very best of this stunning part of the country. Riders will then be treated to a grandstand finish at the Goodwood Motor Circuit where they can collect their well-earned medal.
To find out more about Lucketts visit www.lucketts.co.uk and to find out more about Vélo South visit https://www.velosouth.com/
Project Pictogram guidelines & sticker artwork files are available to download from the web-page hosted at www.hantsfire.gov.uk/project-pictogram