More Than Just Bumper Stickers

If you live in one of South Africa’s major cities, you will no doubt have seen the almost ubiquitous “Think Bike” stickers on cars and bikes alike, and you can’t miss the bikers in their day-glo yellow “Think Bike” vests. But apart from a momentary reminder to look out for bikes, what is Think Bike really about?

The answer is that it is much more than stickers and vests – they are merely the most visible manifestations of Africa’s biggest and most successful motorcycle safety campaign. With more than 4 500 supporters, including some of South Africa’s leading corporates, Think Bike would like to become the country’s most influential lobbyist for all things related to bike safety.

A registered non-profit organization run entirely by volunteers, the campaign goal is "Raising Awareness, Saving Lives" of all two wheel road users and Think Bike’s principal focus can be distilled into four main aims:

The campaign achieves this mainly through publicity. Bumper stickers, banners, stickers on bikes, branded t-shirts, and reflective vests all serve to help make the Think Bike logo well-known. The idea is that every time anyone sees the Think Bike logo, they will think about bikes for a few seconds.

But Think Bike also uses other channels to create awareness, such as posters, TV interviews, newspaper and magazine articles. Hosting stalls run by volunteers at community events such as the AMID bike show and the annual Toy Run helps Think Bike to spread the word, and by marshalling cycling events, including high profile rides such as the 94.7 Cycle Challenge and the Argus cycle race allows the campaign to provide a safe passage to the entrants.

What Think Bike isn’t is a law enforcement agency. While Think Bike doesn’t condone the breaking of the law by bikers (from speeding to removal of number plates to drinking and driving) rather than being prescriptive, Think Bike chooses to leave it to the judgement of the individual biker, who are considered capable of making their own rational choices and recognises that there are government agencies tasked to address these issues. Think Bike would prefer to be seen as a platform where bikers can find sound advice, on which to base educated choices regarding their conduct while riding.

Says Paul Young, chairperson of the campaign’s board of directors: “We recognise that bikers are by nature individualists. Our aim is not to police their actions or change the biking culture, but rather to encourage bikers to think – to use their brains when deciding how and where to ride, in what fashion. Promoting the use of protective gear, sensible restraint when riding in traffic or in dangerous conditions and considerate riding habits form part of this.”

Think Bike is a registered Section 21 company managed by a Board of Directors that is elected by campaign members annually. The campaign’s various working portfolios are voluntarily headed up by campaign members that apply for the roles and are appointed by the Board of Directors. Portfolios include Education, Events, Marshalling, Media, Membership, Sponsorship and Support Services (offering emotional support for injured bikers and their loved ones) and are just some of the key areas that are necessary to the functioning of the campaign.

The main communication tool between its members and supporters is Think Bike’s extremely active Internet forum, on which subjects ranging from bike safety to road hazards to general bike-related topics are discussed in hundreds of posts per day. The forum is loosely moderated, meaning that while users are generally allowed to express themselves freely, moderators will step in when things get out of hand.