Ads on wheels

We're not trying to rub it into the bicycle advertiser that has promised to clean up its act under a consent agreement with the Federal Trade Commission. But the agreement contains such useful reminders of the need for safe riding habits during the current bicycle renaissance that we do intend to harp on it a bit.

Item. Among the no-nos cited are one ad depicting children riding their bikes out of a driveway right into the street without pausing to check the traffic and another one showing a child on a motorized bike turning onto a sidewalk without watching for pedestrians. The ad agency agreed not to show anyone riding a bike against the flow of traffic or without obeying traffic signals or with more people on the bike than it was meant to carry.

Such standards would not prevent portraying biking in all its fun and usefulness -- and they just could serve to advertise safety along with the latest model.