Video: Handle Like Eggs - but is City of London's new cycle safety film a yolk?

We've seen some curious 'cycle safety' videos - remember the Scottish Government's recently launched Niceway Code campaign? - but a new candidate for the most bizarre may have emerged with one released by the City of London Corporation which uses animated, not to mention anthropomorphic, eggs to get the message across.

The film, called Handle Like Eggs, was originally uploaded to YouTube in June, but seems to have been officially launched today via a tweet from the Corporation's @Squarecyclists Twitter account.

Billed as "a fun film" - despite the seriousness of the issues it addresses - the reception to date has not so much been mixed as unanimously negative, with criticism on Twitter and YouTube alike.

That's not been helped by the fact that the animated clip itself is topped and tailed by the Corporation's Head of Media, Greg Williams, explaining to viewers what the message is - a sign, some say, that it isn't clear enough in the film itself.

That message, by the way, is about "sharing the streets safely," with viewers invited to "try and spot what's going wrong," with advice at the end including for cyclists to use the full width of the lane while cycling on narrow streets, and not getting in drivers' blindspots, and motorists not to use their mobile phones at the wheel.

A voiceover from Mr Williams towards the end of the animated segment says: "So Handle Like Eggs is a film about sharing the street, and in our fun film, Toby [the ovoid motorist talking on his mobile] shares a piece of his shell with Belle [the female egg he has knocked off her bike] to put things right after their collision. 

The animation, by the way, supposedly takes place on Cheapside, as does Mr Williams' piece to camera - and as has been pointed out by Mark Treasure of the As Easy As Riding blog (and chair of the GB Cycling Embassy), that's the very location for which the likes of Danny Williams of Cyclists in the City have critcicised not only the inadequacy of provision for cyclists in a recent multimillion pound street renovation scheme, but also the additional danger it presents to bike riders.

Have a look and let us know what you think of the film in the comments below.