Effective cycling
by Forester, John · first published 1984
13mentions
9recommended by
10HN commenters
2009–2023first – last mentioned
90% recommend10% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Teaches cyclists to ride as drivers of vehicles on regular roads, following traffic rules and positioning for visibility. It supports safer urban cycling and suits anyone commuting among cars.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…but more often than not, it doesn't. You don't need a $300 super-bright rechargeable light system -- get a $5 blinky and throw an extra AA battery in your seat bag. It may save your life. Also, read Effective Cycling: http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-6th-John-Forester/dp... Please don't get yourself killed because you don't want to inconvenience a motorist or buy an LED light. Oh, and get a helmet; the $30…
on “Shocked by online comments, reporter writes profile of hit-and-run victim” ↗This is long term controversial issue. If you think the right answer is obvious you probably haven't dove down to the details, where it's much murkier. See in particular John Forester's _Effective_Cycling_. Forester believes that "cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles" and are not segregated from them. There are studies in this area pointing in both directions. One such…
on “Cambridge's Ambitious Protected Bike Lane Law” ↗…Forester, being struck by an overtaking car is among the least likely bicycle accidents, even though it is the rationale used to justify mandatory bike lane usage. http://www.johnforester.com/ His book, Effective Cycling is a great way to improve bicycle safety.
on “Put armor where there aren't bullet holes” ↗…you ride on the wrong side of the road and turn left from the right lane, then yeah, it's scary because you're driving like a maniac. Don't do that. Get this book and read it: http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-6th-John-Forester/dp...
on “Abu Dhabi Traffic Accidents Dropped 40% During the BlackBerry Outage” ↗https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicular_cycling John Forester's treatise "Effective Cycling" was a huge influence on me when it came to urban cycling.
on “Bicyclists Deserve the Right to Free Movement” ↗I highly recommend "Effective Cycling" by John Forester as a reference on how to learn the rules of cycling with automobiles on the same roads. The basic rule of thumb is the same as motorcyclists - pretend you are invisible and car drivers…
on “Who Causes Cyclists’ Deaths?” ↗John Forester's "Effective Cycling" is the textbook on riding safely in traffic. His book has many diagrams explaining many common riding in traffic scenarios. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_Cycling > Forester summarizes…
on “Bike ride, accident, and ambulance trip tracked on Runkeeper” ↗The article says that no one is going to bother enforcing this new law. Instead of waiting for law enforcement to care, the best thing you can do as a cyclist is give $25 to the MIT Press and read Effective Cycling. John Forester is an engineer with decades of cycling experience. "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles" http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-John-Forester/dp/026...…
on “New California law requires drivers passing cyclists to give 3 feet of clearance” ↗…accomplishment, but just isn't that big a deal once you've actually done it. First, you should already be a competent urban cyclist. By competent, I mean you should have trained in the practices from Forester's Effective Cycling[1] or a similar resource. Second, prepare your bike and yourself for the climate in your area. Icebike.org[2] is a great resource for this. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Cycling-John-Forester/dp/026...…
on “Heart and sole: Detroiter walks 21 miles in work commute” ↗I wish I could downvote this more. To quote from the Effective Cycling book below: "cyclists should consider themselves drivers of vehicles in traffic. That means obeying the rules of the road, because when all drivers obey the same rules, they don't have collisions. Forester…
on “New California law requires drivers passing cyclists to give 3 feet of clearance” ↗Everywhere I've ridden a bike, which includes Chicago, the suburbs, and the Seattle area. Like anything, riding in traffic involves learning and practice. Read "Effective Cycling" to learn the rules and techniques, then try it out. 10,000 hours later (according to Gladwell), you'll be a pro. (I'm don't have this much practice, but I still feel safe. I can only think of two…
on “Abu Dhabi Traffic Accidents Dropped 40% During the BlackBerry Outage” ↗I'm a long term cyclist (> 100,000 miles) and I live in the Metro Boston area and have bike commuted into Cambridge before. I read Effective Cycling a long time ago and took it to heart and I put a large amount of my safety over the years down to following the "Vehicular Cycling" model. Drivers are WAY less likely to honk or yell at you when you…
on “Cambridge's Ambitious Protected Bike Lane Law” ↗…light that simply dazzles head on doesn't do anything more than a reflector. You can call the idea "stupid" all you want, but unless you have a study, then your argument is no more compelling than that of Effective Cycling's John Forester[1]. That said, I don't think a weird green symbol on the ground is a particularly great solution either. A headlamp with a decent spread aimed slightly at the ground ahead should function…
on “Bike light that projects the symbol of a bike down onto the road” ↗