News
John Auerbach RIP
Carlton Reid Mar 30 2007, 9:30am
John Auerbach, a key figure in the post-WWII US bike industry, died on Wednesday. He was 96.
For 50+ years, Auerbach served as the executive director of the Bicycle Institute of America, and was involved with organisations such as the Cycle Parts and Accessories Association
He worked to change public perceptions of the bicycle from seeing it as merely a children's toy to a means of transportation, exercise, recreation and fun for all ages.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Auerbach mobilised industry and civic leaders into a coalition to encourage the conversion of former railroad tracks into public bikeways.
Auerbach successfully defended the bicycle industry against attempts to reclassify the bicycle and thereby remove its status as a "vehicle" under state vehicle and traffic laws.
He also led a drive to enact a national bicycle safety standard. His efforts culminated in the adoption by the Consumer Products Safety Commission of a federal bicycle safety standard, the first of its kind.
In the 1960s, Auerbach enlisted the support of the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations to promote cycling as a healthy and pleasurable pastime. He met with President Eisenhower and his personal physician, Dr. Paul Dudley White, encouraging them to include cyclingin their legislative agenda. Later, when John F. Kennedy made physical fitness a national priority, Auerbach worked with the Kennedy Administration to incorporate bicycle riding into physical fitness programs across the US.
In the 1980s and 90s Auerbach was a staunch supporter of cycle helmets.
Source: Roslyn News
