Cycling through Paris

I’m an enthusiastic user of the Vélib rental bike system to get around Paris, and I’ve commented on safe cycling through Paris.

There have been a handful of cycling fatalities since the bike service was launched in July 2007. Most of the accidents involve large vehicles, and blind spots.

Velib cycles used to feature basic cycling information:

The sticker has been replaced with visuals that highlight blind spots and the hazards they present to cyclists:

One of the new visuals points out where a cyclist is not visible to a truck driver:

The other new visual plays out several accident scenarios, viewed from above. I find this image comparatively unhelpful: telling me about points of impact doesn’t help me to avoid an accident:

It’s encouraging to see –six months after it was announced– prominent warnings to cyclists. But are the authorities making a similar outreach to large vehicle drivers?