Reading List

Bibliography for Cycling Advocates

Each year, I prepare a reading list of fun and useful cycling books. Usually, it's a list of travelogues, released just in time for holiday gift buying. This year, I've prepared a more technical list of "must read" material for bicycle transportation advocates and transportation professionals. Of course, there's a lot more information available, but these are considered the references necessary to give anyone a good understanding of cycling issues. A more comprehensive bibliography of cycling resources is available here: Bicycle Bibliography (PDF 208 KB)

Books

1. Forester, John, Effective Cycling, 6th Edition. The MIT Press, 1993. A classic handbook for cyclists, covering everything that a road cyclist needs to know to use a bicycle every day, for any purpose, under all conditions of road, traffic and topography, and under all reasonable conditions of weather. It starts with the selection and care of the bicycle, and care of the cyclist. It progresses to the methods by which the cyclist controls a bicycle, and then to the techniques for using the bicycle in its normal operating environments.
2. Forester, John, Bicycle Transportation, 2nd Edition: A Handbook for Cycling Transportation Engineers. The MIT Press, 1994. Bicycle Transportation is intended for two types of reader: the government employee with cycling responsibilities and those persons who wish to influence such people into doing their jobs better. This presents the scientific knowledge about cycling, cycling transportation, cycling accidents, and traffic engineering with respect to cyclists, and describes and analyzes the governmental policies, programs, and research concerning bicycle transportation.
3. Franklin, John, Cyclecraft. The Stationery Office, 1997, reprint 2004. Acknowledged as the definitive guide to cycling technique and recommended reading for everyone who cycles or who would like to do so,Cyclecraft is the basis for the syllabus of the United Kingdom's National Cycle Training Standard.
4. Sharp, Archibald, Bicycles and Tricycles: An Elementary Treatise on Their Design and Construction. Longmans, Green, London, 1896. Reprinted by MIT Press, 1979. This is the first serious, scientifically based study of the bicycle. It begins with a general exposition of mechanical principles: dynamic, static, and straining forces, then covers successive experiments at bicycle and tricycle design.

Technical reports

1. Hillman, Mayer, Cycling: Towards Health and Safety. A Report from the BMA. British Medical Association, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1992. This report reviews the state of cycling in the UK, particularly in relation to risks faced on the road. The book discusses the part that regular exercise can play in improving health and provides an estimate of life-years gained through cycling.
2. Schimek, Paul, The Dilemmas of Bicycle Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Urban Studies and Planning and U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Revised: March 2, 1999. Investigates dilemmas facing bicyclists and the bicycle planner: public misconceptions about bicycling, professional neglect of bicycling, locations that challenge bicycle transportation, bicycle as "design vehicle", transportation funding that emphasizes capital spending over maintenance, misplaced traffic enforcement, designated bicycle facilities that increase cyclist danger, neglect of education resulting from focus on facilities. Available online at: http://www.massbike.org/info/dilemma.htm

Research Studies and Papers

Studies every cyclist should know

1. Burden, Dan and Bruce Burgess, Bicycle Safety Highway Users Information Report. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, DC Originally published as DOT HS-803 206, January 1978. Available online at: http://www.bikexprt.com/research/bikecentennial/index.htm
2. Cross, Kenneth D., Identifying Critical Behavior Leading to Collisions Between Bicycles and Motor Vehicles. Anacapa Sciences, Inc. Santa Barbara, California. Presented to the California Statewide Bicycle Committee, Sacramento, California, 19 June, 1974. This paper describes the first part of a study designed to identify the causes of critical behavioral acts that lead to collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles.
3. Cross, Kenneth D., and Gary Fisher, A Study of Bicycle / Motor Vehicle Accidents: Identification of Problem Types & Countermeasure Approaches. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1977. One of the earliest comprehensive studies of child and adult cycling behaviour, identifying and classifying car-bike collision problem types and identifying cyclists' abilities to avoid car-bike collisions.
4. Cross, Kenneth D., Bicycle Safety Education: Facts & Issues, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Falls Church, VA., 1978. A compendium of information for persons engaged in the development, evaluation, or use of bicycle-safety education programs and materials. The document was prepared mainly for persons at the local level who are given the responsibility for developing a bicycle-safety education program and lack the time to review the literature and conduct research.
5. Kaplan, Jerrold A., Characteristics of the Regular Adult Bicycle User, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Planning and Research, San Francisco, 1975. A study of adult bicycle riders, analyzing demographic and bicycle description data and information, along with trip characteristics and accident experience. Discussion of the relationship between experience and accident involvement.
6. Moritz, William E., Adult Bicyclists in the United States: Characteristics and Riding Experience in 1996, Bicycling Committee, Transportation Research Board; Washington; 1998. A comprehensive survey of bicycle commuters in the United States and Canada. Information was gathered in seven categories: commuting, facilities, bike, motivation, safety/accidents, health, cyclists and cyclists' households. The results of this survey should be of interest to policy makers, businesses, and advocates interested in promoting the use of the bicycle for transportation purposes. Pre-print copy of TRB paper 98-0009 is available online at: http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Library/Moritz2.htm
7. Wachtel, Alan, and Diana Lewiston, "Risk Factors for Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Collisions at Intersections", ITE Journal, Institute of Transportation Engineers, September 1994. This paper reports a study of bicycle-motor vehicle collisions in Palo Alto, California. The study compares personal characteristics and bicycling behavior of bicyclists involved in accidents with similar data for the general population of bicyclists observed along the same streets. The comparison identifies factors that are correlated with increased risk of bicycle-motor vehicle collisions, and to suggest engineering practices that reduce this risk. Available online at: http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Library/riskfactors.htm

Other useful studies

1. Aultman-Hall, L., Safety Issues concerning Sidewalk Bicycling, presented to the Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety Conference, Toronto June 1997.
2. Aultman-Hall, L., and Adams, M.F., Sidewalk Bicycling Safety Issues, presented to the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., January 1998.
3. Aultman-Hall, L., and Hall F. L., Ottawa-Carleton Commuter Cyclist On and Off-Road Incident Rates, 1998, Accident Analysis & Prevention, vol 30 No 1 Pages 29-43.
4. Aultman-Hall, L. and Kaltenecker M.G.,Toronto Bicycle Commuter Safety Rates, presented to the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 1998. Aultman-Hall and colleagues investigated risks of cycling on various facilities, especially sidewalks.
5. Brezina, E., and Kramer, M. An Investigation of Rider, Bicycle and Environmental Variables in Urban Bicycle Collisions. Ontario Department of Transportation, Technical Bulletin SE-70-01, October, 1970. This is one of the few studies that includes analysis of cyclist nighttime risks.
6. Drummond, Alan E. and Francis M. Jee, The Risks of Bicyclist Accident Involvement, Monash University Accident Research Centre, Report No. 2, October 1988. This report investigates the relative safety of cycling on the road and footpath and of a variety of cycling behaviours in metropolitan Melbourne. Results were provided on exposure patterns, accident involvement risk estimates and helmet wearing rates. Available online at: http://www.monash.edu.au/muarc/reports/muarc002.pdf
7. Hunter, W.W., J.C. Stutts, W.E. Pein, and C.L. Cox, Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Types of the Early 1990's, Publication No. FHWA-RD-95-163, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC, June 1996. This paper presents results from a 3-year study of bicycle lanes versus wide curb lanes performed for the Federal Highway Administration. In addition, the study included an analysis of bicycle crash types.
8. Jacobsen, P. L., "Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling", Inj Prev 2003;9:205-209, 2003. Examines the relationship between the numbers of people walking or bicycling and the frequency of collisions between motorists and walkers or bicyclists. The likelihood that a given person walking or bicycling will be struck by a motorist varies inversely with the amount of walking or bicycling. This pattern is consistent across communities of varying size, from specific intersections to cities and countries, and across time periods. Available online at: http://ip.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/9/3/205
   
9. Layfield, R.E. and G. Maycock. "Pedal-Cyclists at Roundabouts," Traffic Engineering and Control, June 1986, pp. 343-349.
10. Shoon, C. and J. Van Minnen. "The Safety of Roundabouts in the Netherlands", Traffic Engineering and Control, March 1994, pp. 142-148.

Consumer Publications

1. Allen, John S., Bicycling Street Smarts, Second edition, 2001, Rubel Bikemaps, Cambridge, Massachusetts. First edition published by Rodale Press, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, 1987. Available as a 46-page booklet and online version, Street Smarts provides information that helps cyclists, whether beginner or expert, increase their safety and confidence. Available online at: http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm
2. BikeSense: The British Columbia Bicycle Operators Manual, Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition. BikeSense has been written and reviewed by professional cycling skills instructors, cycling advocacy organizations, bicycle trained police officers and provincial authorities responsible for making and interpreting our traffic laws. Available online at: http://www.bikesense.bc.ca

3. Share the Road: Pennsylvania Bicycle Driver's Manual (PDF, 381 KB), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. This manual teaches safe bicycling on public roads and streets. The target audience is licensed drivers over the age of 16. Portions were adapted from a Rodale Press Publication, Street Smarts: Bicyclist's Traffic Survival Guide, with information from Bicycling Magazine. Available online at: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/docs/pamanual.pdf

Ed Wagner, a League of American Bicyclists cycling instructor sums it up nicely: "If we're going to influence planning and educate both current and prospective cyclists, we really need to have a common understanding of the bicycling literature, if only to see that we base actions on reality rather than supposition and guesswork."