I have read plenty of articles about how The Kids Today don’t play outside anymore, but would like to read one about how the olds today want to sic the cops on them the moment they step outside
I sincerely hate cars. Everything about the contemporary culture concerning cars is just disgusting. Somehow US has it on steroids with the gigantic cars, miniscule space for everybody else and so on
And yes, I do need to make it clear, yes, I am aware I am quite lucky to live in a country in which there are alternatives. I am also aware that there are people who do need cars since there are no accommodations for them.
it's so fucked up that you have to make this second post because we all know the argument-addicted gadflies are going to come swarming in on that first post
Sometimes it is a bit annoying. Especially since usually the implication is that we share enough of social and cultural background to know that this part is implied. Alas.
random thought I won't follow through on: a feed just for posts that include a "this is about pancakes not waffles" disclaimer
just to see what things people think they will be misunderstood on
This is easily fixed by elevating diverse disabled voices in these discussions. Including more Black and Latine voices will insure the role of cars to maintain racially segregated communities is also not overlooked.
The weird thing is how OBVIOUS it is. It does not require a tinfoil hat or a board with a lot of pins and red string. No. It is so blatant, denying it is on par with insisting that the sky is not blue.
There are a few ways to opt out. But those ways are extremely popular and expensive because there just aren't enough of them.
NY, SF, Boston, DC, Seattle.
a couple are less expensive:
Chicago, Philly.
might be 3 or 4 others.
It's not an opt out at all! Those cities are the best we've got but you're still fucking swimming in cars. Pedestrians get killed at bus stops and standing on the sidewalk all the time in SF and NYC.
We can't even get fucking congestión pricing in NYC because you can't escape the car hegemony
I dumped my car when I moved to Providence and I primarily get around on foot bike and bus, but it's not an opt out. I'm threatened by automobile violence and inconvenienced by overwhelming car oriented thinking every day.
Yup. And from what I hear, traffic deaths in Seattle are higher than ever. And don’t even try getting from one island-like neighborhood to another on a bus in under a half hour.
I got a little hybrid sedan recently which I love, and I would happily give it up in a heartbeat for walkable infra and public transit.
Feeling like I’m gonna get smushed by a F350 around every corner fucking sucks.
I recently got a 2006 Prius. It’s noticeably diminutive compared to most other vehicles on the road, but the interior feels cavernous to me. I can’t fathom what people are doing with huge cars, especially in the width.
the worst part is, some of the largest cars i've been in have some of the least passenger space
this is a full size suv, why is my head brushing the headliner? where did all the space go
or a hummer (non ev)... most claustro, cramped interior ive ever had the displeasure of riding in.
Drove a new pickup a few months ago; think it was a Dodge. Big Three, anyway. Was jammed off to the side, with the left third of my vision blocked by the A pillar. Horrible thing to drive. Uncomfortable seat, too.
I had driven a huge jeep high in the mountains. We were taking food up to a hut. The road, if you can call it that, was something goats would be annoyed at. We managed. Outside of such a situation, I don't see the point of huge cars with serious engines. I truly don't.
Me either! And big pickups especially aren't particularly fun to drive. Would be interesting to see what actually switched the midlife crisis/douchebag market from sports, muscle, and Euro performance cars to things the size of pocket dump trucks.
Mostly I picked the figures based on the point where accidents become much more likely to be fatal. At 40km/h a pedestrian getting hit has a 40% fatality rate, but at 50km/h it's 90%. Kinetic energy goes up quadratically with velocity so even a small increase in speed makes a dramatic difference.
Just out of curiosity, where abouts do you live? Is it part of the US that has good transit like NY or Chicago, or is it another country that’s better at this than we are?
Here in Jacksonville, FL I live on what people consider a through street. Through meaning my dog and I can't walk through the neighborhood without being concerned about poor visibility trucks and SUVs barreling through at 40 mph. There are zero sidewalks, despite the road being barely 2 cars wide.
"oh, you must live out some dirt road near farmland!"
No, we live in the single family home sprawl of a city that designed neighborhood street sizes back when cars were still a bit of a novelty and nobody in the neighborhood could afford one.
Same. I live in central Ohio. The apartment complex I lived in for years was adjacent to a big highway on-ramp, so there was LEGALLY and PRACTICALLY no way to travel on foot. It was a shame because it was near a posh, walkable area, but I always had to talk my car to get there.
I talk to my car too lol.
but seriously, yeah, to safely get a good walk in we have to drive somewhere else. it's so ridiculous to have to be car dependent just to get somewhere that we can walk without fear of being mowed down.
