StreetSmart, a Washington, DC-area public safety campaign, has been running an ad that lots of people find objectionable:
A safety campaign blames pedestrians for getting hit by cars. This response is perfect.
Endlessly frustrated that regional bike-ped money pays for this. Safety education is not the same as victim blaming. pic.twitter.com/EX942VElBT
— Shane Farthing (@ShaneFarthing) March 24, 2015 So DC resident Colin Browne made a slight revision:
Dear Sirs, See attached for suggested revisions to your StreetSmart Campaign. Thanks, -Colin pic.twitter.com/CEpSyZqnb5
— Colin (@ColinTBrowne) March 25, 2015 What Browne is pointing out here is that the original ad is engaging in a bit of victim-blaming.
Yes, if you’re a pedestrian, wearing bright colors reduces your risk of getting hit by a car. But ultimately, it’s drivers that are responsible for running over pedestrians — and there’s something weird about putting up safety ads on buses that focus on pedestrians’ choice of attire instead.
To be fair, StreetSmart also has ads directed at drivers. But in the past, the organization has run other ads that bizarrely seem to suggest jaywalking presents a bigger threat to cars than pedestrians:
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