The ACT Government has launched a new light-hearted campaign urging drivers and cyclists to share the road.

The television advertisements have a simple message, "whether you drive or ride you have the same rights and responsibilities".

The campaign features lines such as "when you see a bicycle on the road, think of it as just another car, broom, broom, broom".

But Chief ACT Police Officer Rudi Lammers said the light-hearted campaign could help reduce the number of accidents in the national capital.

Three cyclists have died on Canberra roads during the past five years.

Assistant Commissioner Lammers said he hoped the ads would help educate road users.

"The road rules in the ACT apply as equally to cyclists as they do to any other motorists on the road and the fines apply equally," he said.

"What we're hopeful for over the next couple of months is that cyclists watch out for motorists and that motorists watch out for cyclists."

But Assistant Commissioner Lammers said the outcome could often be much worse for cyclists if they were involved in a collision.

"When a cyclist falls off a bike or is hit by a motor vehicle the injuries sustained are far worse in most circumstances than in a motor vehicle accident," he said.

Yesterday a cyclist was taken to hospital in a critical condition after he came off his bike in Deakin.

Police said they did not believe other vehicles were involved and they were investigating a possible mechanical failure with his bike.

Today Canberra cyclists welcomed the new road safety campaign.

Pedal Power ACT's John Armstrong said it was a really effective message.

"There is a small section of the community that chooses to be aggressive to the bike riders thinking that they don't belong to the road," he said.

"It's a core central message and I actually think the campaign will be very, very positive."

The road safety campaign will run for the next two months.