IPMBA News

From ECI to PCI: A Tribute to John Forester

By Allan Howard, PCI #001T
Dayton (OH) Police Department (ret.)

John Forester, born in Dulwich, England, October 7, 1929; died in San Diego, California, April 14, 2020.

I got this news via email the other day.  Despite the fact that John was 90 years old, I somehow thought he'd live forever.  Alas! No one does, but I do want to take a moment to explain why he will always be a part of IPMBA.

In the early days of the Dayton Police Bike Patrol, prior to the formation of IPMBA, I realized that training would have to be a priority.  To that end, I searched out local cycling advocates Jerry Hopfengardner (Educational Specialist and professor at the University of Dayton) and Carl Bishop, both of whom were cycling advocates and League of American Wheelmen (L.A.W.; now the League of American Bicyclists) Effective Cycling Instructors.  The Effective Cycling program was created by John Forester based on the book he wrote in 1976, also titled Effective Cycling.  The basic tenet of the book and program were that cyclists should ride on the road and conduct themselves as they would in/on any other vehicle. 

To say that John wasn't a fan of separating cyclists from other traffic by any means (e.g., sidewalks, bike paths, or dedicated cycle lanes) would be a massive understatement.  The L.A.W., which was primarily a cycling advocacy organization, adopted the program in an effort to promote the idea that bicycles belong on the road.  In my opinion, this was a watershed moment for cycling in the United States.  Unlike European countries, the modern United States road system was designed for cars, not walking or riding bicycles, though it should noted that roads were first paved to make travel by bicycle easier, an initiative known as the Good Roads Movement that was begun by the L.A.W. in 1892.  John realized if he was to further the cause for cycling in the U.S., there was no other viable way to go. 

With the help of Jerry and Carl, I became an L.A.W. Effective Cycling Instructor (ECI) and immediately began teaching the course to our officers, adding in urban obstacles and police tactics training.  Little did I know there was another police officer/ECI doing the same thing in Coon Rapids, Minnesota:  a guy by the name of Kirby Beck.  The L.A.W. saw the value of police bicycle patrols and held a conference in 1991 in Tucson, Arizona, called the “First Annual Conference of Bicycle-Mounted Police”, also known as the Police on Bikes Conference.  They knew having public safety personnel out on bikes would tacitly advocate to the non-cycling public that bikes belonged on the road.  They dedicated a staff member to manage this new area of interest, Susie Jones, who set about laying the foundation for IPMBA. 

The first thing any of us agreed on during the first two conferences (Tucson and Las Vegas) was that training would and should always be IPMBA’s top priority.  When I first met Kirby Beck at the L.A.W. Rally in River Falls, Wisconsin, he was teaching a class on police bike patrol.  I had been elected to the position of chairman of the newly formed IPMBA Board in Las Vegas and by default held a position on the regular L.A.W. Board as well.  Kirby and I talked after his class and we agreed that using Effective Cycling as the foundation for an IPMBA training program was the easiest and smartest thing to do. It was at that conference I formed my friendship and bond with Kirby, something I'm grateful for to this day. 

During the process of becoming an ECI, I also became good friends with my mentor, Jerry Hopfengardner.  Jerry probably took pity on this uneducated beat cop because he had a son in the business as well, my now good friend and Police Cyclist Instructor (PCI) Bruce Hopfengardner.  Jerry had a connection with John Forester and got me invited to a dinner party he was attending.  Jerry gave me important background information about John so I might better understand how to approach him with our request to use the copyrighted Effective Cycling materials in the development of the IPMBA Police Cyclist Course.  As I mentioned, the L.A.W. was an advocacy organization; John wasn't an advocate, he was an activist.  Activists often come in contact with law enforcement and they aren’t always touchy-feely situations.  John was passionate about cycling and his cause; consequently, he'd had some experiences with LEOs that leaned him a little more toward the “question authority” side.  When I was introduced to him I could tell I needed to overcome his perception of LEOs if I wanted to essentially plagiarize his life's work.

I had two things going for me that night; one, I was a life-long cyclist and current bicycle racer, and John was/had been both.  The second “in” was that you never needed to ask what I was thinking, it just came out (mostly to my own detriment) and John was afflicted with same problem.  After dinner, John queried me on hypothetical situations involving cycling activists and LEOs that I later learned were based on his actual experiences; I suppose as some sort of test.  He laid out several scenarios and wanted to know how I would handle them, each one being more confrontational than the last.  The last situation we discussed involved a cyclist pushing things to the point of arrest and not being willing to submit to it.  I was at a crossroads.  As we sat there with him staring at me, I knew my answer would make or break my hope to use his material. Should I lie and say I'd have empathy for someone who was passionate about their cause, or tell the real truth?  I wish I could tell you I debated for what seemed like an eternity, but I didn't.  I looked him square in the eye and told him anyone who had pushed a situation to the point of arrest and then physically resisted it would “get a rap on the beak and be put in handcuffs”.  He smiled, said he thought I was an honest man, and granted permission for IPMBA to use any of his material for our training course, free of charge.

The core group of founding IPMBA board members would go on to create the Police Cyclist/Instructor Courses from Effective Cycling and that put IPMBA on the map.  Our training continues to be our primary focus and has saved who knows how many public safety lives.  Over the course of IPMBA's development, I continued to see John at L.A.W. meetings/rallies and he was very interested in seeing us succeed.  Eventually, it became time for IPMBA to become its own entity and we did so successfully, primarily because of the Police Cyclist Course.  Many people in our organization don't know what the L.A.W. and John Forester did for us, but without them, we wouldn't exist.

John was a polarizing figure; some claim his theories set cycling back and stunted the development of bike lanes, bike paths and other areas set aside for cycling.  One thing is certain; he brought cycling as a form of transportation to the forefront with his work.  He believed in what he said, wrote about it and practiced it, even when it wasn't popular.  That takes courage.  IPMBA owes you debt of gratitude, John.  R.I.P., ECI #1, Godspeed.   

Share this post


Comments

  • John Schubert

    Allan, thank you for this wonderful, candid remembrance.  Police, and the community they serve, are so much better off because of bicycles, and the role Forester played should be well known.

    02:19pm, 05/06/2020
  • Bill Hoffman

    I second John Schubert’s comments. I was heavily involved in LAW then, and knew Allan, Kirby, Jerry, Susie, and of course, John F. I was never directly involved in the development of the Police on Bikes program, but I supported it and have seen its benefits here in Lancaster, PA, where I have now lived for 30 years.

    07:53pm, 05/13/2020
  • AllanHoward

    Thank you John and Bill.  It’s very important for everyone in IPMBA to know & remember where we came from and the benevolence of the LAW/LAB and John Forester.  Bill, I remember you very well and you’re also one of the people that helped IPMBA get to where we are today.  Your unwavering support as an LAW board member is not forgotten. Our success is just as much yours as it is ours.

    12:10pm, 07/26/2020

Leave a comment