The Great Schism: Federal Bicycle Safety Regulation and the Unraveling of American Bicycle Planning

In the early 1970s, a bicycle boom swept the United States, with over 40 million bicycles being sold between 1971 and 1974. However, by 1980, dedicated federal funding for bicycle facilities had diminished and stayed low for the next 15 years. This article argues that the promulgation of a set of product safety standards by the then-new Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) triggered an irrevocable ideological schism between experienced recreational cyclists, government, and the bicycle industry. The CPSC regulations not only proved ineffective in improving bicycle safety, but also opened a window of opportunity for those who sought the destruction of the domestic bicycle industry and wished to block the efforts of local, state, and federal agencies to improve bicycle safety and revitalize bicycling as a viable transport mode.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1767710
• Authors:
  • Epperson, Bruce
• Publication Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 73-118
• Serial:
  • Transportation Law Journal
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: University of Denver College of Law
  • ISSN: 0049-450X
  • Serial URL: https://www.law.du.edu/transportation-law-journal

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle travel; Bicycling; Cyclists; Federal laws; Government funding; Policy, legislation and regulation
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Uncontrolled Terms: Safety standards
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01173719
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 27 2010 9:55AM