Jeremy Vine sparks row over whether lorry’s cyclist warning is ‘victim blaming’ A sign on a Sainsbury’s truck that says “Alert today… alive tomorrow” is tantamount to victim blaming, cycling campaigners say. […]

A sign on a Sainsbury’s truck that says “Alert today… alive tomorrow” is tantamount to victim blaming, cycling campaigners say.

A picture of one of the “cycle-safe” trucks was shared by broadcaster Jeremy Vine on Twitter, prompting debate from bicycle users.

He captioned the image with “Translation, ‘If I kill you it’s not my fault.'” Great way of increasing fear of cycling”.

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Translation, "If I kill you it's not my fault." Great way of increasing general fear of cycling @sainsburys pic.twitter.com/AZOMUOIEVm — Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) June 9, 2016

Some Twitter users took issue with the warning, with one saying: “The tone of this sign is quite unpleasant.” Another said Sainsbury’s were “blaming cyclists for road deaths”.

But the majority of respondents agreed with the safety message on the trucks, introduced by the supermarket in 2014 as a way of increasing cyclist safety. One user said: “Warnings need to be as stern and frank as possible, frankly. Anything less is typically ignored.”

Just as applicable to drivers

Duncan Dollimore, road safety campaigner at Cycling UK, said: “Warning cyclists that they might be in or approaching a lorry driver’s blind spot is sensible, but it should be only a single part of a safe systems approach by any responsible company using large vehicles.

“Sainsbury’s message of ‘Alert today, alive tomorrow’ is just as applicable to their drivers’ behaviour around cyclists and walkers, and in this context it is unnecessary and tantamount to victim blaming.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We launched this lorry two years ago with the sole purpose of keeping road users safe. We’ve been leading on this issue and have had positive feedback from the cycling community on our efforts.”