[trafficsafety] idea for a traffic safety PSA

A PSA is a Public Service Announcement. Has anyone noticed there is a
PSA for JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING? I don't watch TV often, but whenever I
do there is a message during a commercial break about separating glass
from other recyclables, or the importance of yielding to emergency
vehicles, or the hazards of smoking... just about every group in the
world has a PSA but WHERE are the ones educating viewers / listeners
about sharing the road? I still encounter drivers who believe that
cyclists riding in a lane (in one of the situations that permit "taking
a lane" by law) are riding illegally, or don't realize they have to
yield the right of way to any cyclist in a bike lane.

Also, have you noticed those commercials that present two possible
realities, one with a product and one without? Without, it is usually
something like this: everything is seen through a gray filter, everyone
pictured is miserable and has a mopey face, it's probably cloudy, etc.
Then, with the introduction of The Product, suddenly everyone is
smiling, it is sunny, everything is in full color, somebody's sinuses
are clear now, and a butterfly alights on their shoulder (or some crap
like that).

SO, here is my idea for a "share the road" PSA:

In the first half, the words "Before The Enlightenment" or similar fill
the screen, then there is a quickly-edited succession of poor traffic
interactions. Everyone is angry, it's cloudy, people are cursing at
each other... or some facsimile of cursing, network profanity guidelines
you know. A cyclist gets doored, someone is cut off by a right-turning
motorist, a car or better yet SUV pulls out from a two-way stop and a
cyclist ends up T-ing into their door, you get the idea.

To start the second half, the words "After The Enlightenment" or similar
fill the screen. In this half, colors are brighter, motorists and
cyclists wave and smile at each other, somebody says "nice legs" to a
cyclist, and the previously shown traffic interactions are repeated but
there are no conflicts. The driver looks before opening the door, the
right-turning driver and the two-way-stop driver patiently wait for the
cyclist to clear the intersection... add your ideas here. Oh yeah, a
butterfly alights on somebody's shoulder, or a dove, or maybe we could
do something much more funny and unexpected than that.

At the end, the URL for a website, preferably one with a short
easily-remembered address, fills the screen. At this website would be
educational information about sharing the road, presented in the
simplest possible way, with links to statutes for each state and locality.

Whaddaya think? Who do you think would help fund something like this?
Has anything like this been attemped in the past? Many people I've
talked to have been very positive about this idea.

Barbara had an excellent idea for a PSA, I can't remember if it was in
verbal conversation or an email that we "talked" about it... Barbara?

<:Bri:>

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