A week after the Olympic cycling champion Remco Evenepoel was injured in a collision with a post office delivery van, he has teamed up with the Belgian post office Bpost to launch a road safety campaign. The ‘Remco Reflex’ campaign aims to reduce the number of cyclists that are injured by motorists opening the doors of their vehicles without looking.
Speaking on Tuesday Remco Evenepoel said “When I asked me if I would do this I agreed straight away”.
In Belgium more than 300 cyclists a year are injured in collisions with vehicle doors that have opened suddenly. Last week one of the country’s best-known and most able cyclist Remco Evenepoel suffered bruising to his lungs, luxation of the collarbone and three fractures when he collided with the open door of a Bpost delivery van. The unfortunate accident set the 24-year-old cyclist and the Belgian post office thinking and they have now joined forces to launch the Remco Reflex campaign. Remco Evenepoel’s R.Ev Academy van Remco Evenepoel helped design the sticker the aim of which is to raise awareness of the issue of “dooring”.
A sticker put on the driver's side window of a vehicle will remind the motorist to pay extra attention to cyclists that might be approaching when they open the door of their vehicle.
In a statement Bpost says that “Although all bpost drivers have been extensively trained to use Dutch Reach (a technique where you open the door with the opposite arm to force yourself to look back), a permanent visual reminder is useful. So, we will be putting the Remco Reflex sticker in all our vehicles”.
Remco Evenepoel is also enthusiastic about the campaign: “When the people at bpost made me this proposal, I immediately jumped at it” says the Olympic champion said.
Anyone wishing to order a Remco Reflex sticker can do so free of charge via this link (website in Dutch and French only).