A crew who want to be known as “Department of D.I.Y.” have posted some street signs designed to do nothing but inspire some courtesy. Bike accidents in Los Angeles are rampant. Not that they aren’t in quite a few places, (shout out to my homie who just got hit-and-run in Albany NY,) but in Los Angeles the people with the printers and wheatpaste and brushes are up on it. This is love for the greater good.

Also tied on to this movement (and submitted to us) is this question and answer manifesto from the crew, telling of why and what is going on:

Who? The Department of D.I.Y. is a vast group of concerned cyclists and commuters living in Los Angeles some of whom are victims of road rage, hit and runs and / or harassment, many of whom feel that motorists do not fully respect their rights to use our common streets, all of whom wish for a safer more amicable relationship with motor vehicle traffic.

Why? Because this beloved city of Los Angeles can’t, won’t or doesn’t care about the safety of vulnerable road users, the Department of D.I.Y. aims to make a broad appeal to drivers via the campaign. The message “Please Pass With Care” is not intended to be political, nor is it intended to criticize the driver’s choice of transportation mode, it is a simple message of empathy. It is an honest straight forward appeal to drivers to give bicycle riders a brake, some room on the road, and some common human respect. The lives of cyclists are literally in their hands.

Where? Everywhere people drive cars.

When? The sooner that the message gets out the better. A lot of blood has been spilled in the streets. Every week that goes by, another hit and run, or another close call, or another chilling case of harassment occurs. This can not be tolerated.

How? This public appeal is to be spread in a respectful manner in the public space with maximum visibility to drivers.

So these are being put up right now in Los Angeles first, then it would be awesome if they spread across the USA, because god knows the message needs to be shot out of a cannon. I love that they’re both in English and Spanish, that’s healthy growth. You know that people who don’t speak English can drive cars? Wow! And everyone has the ability to hit people on bikes. Please heed the call! Share the road with everyone!

This post is part of the World Famous Design Junkies black and white category. That’s because this issue is nothing less and nothing more than black and white.