Car Culture
Streetsblog Basics
U.S. PIRG Report: Young Americans Dump Cars for Bikes, Buses
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group has been crunching the numbers on travel preferences among young Americans -- and the news is not good for auto makers.
April 5, 2012
Open Thread: The Volvo Pedestrian Airbag
I am ambivalent about the Volvo pedestrian airbag, as seen via Laughing Squid. On one hand, it seems like another way for automakers to help people shirk responsibility for how they drive. Plus, as currently designed, it looks like it's intended to minimize windshield damage as much as anything.
March 13, 2012
The Street of the Future: No Humans Necessary
This 45-second simulation of cute miniature jelly beans multi-ton driverless vehicles navigating the intersection of twin 12-lane monstrosities was featured on Atlantic Cities yesterday, and it's been making the rounds via Twitter. With Google engineers tooling around in vehicles that drive themselves, it looks like the 1950's-era dream of cars on autopilot zooming about on massive elevated highways has morphed into a thoroughly modern vision of cars on autopilot zooming about on street-level highways.
March 2, 2012
Nothing to Fear But Drivers’ Lack of Fear
Recently, I shared with a car enthusiast friend that I would never enjoy driving as much as he did, in part because cars scared me a little. I had experienced crashes and lost loved ones to them, I explained, which had a lasting effect. This struck him as both silly (who’s afraid of cars?) and serious (what’s life without the joy of driving?). He had an easy solution, though: Take an advanced driving skills class. My fear, if warranted, would be swept away by my improved ability or, if unwarranted, by my newfound confidence.
February 17, 2012
Dear Media Lemmings: Headphones Don’t Kill People, Drivers Do
There's a University of Maryland study making the rounds today that links pedestrian fatalities with the wearing of headphones -- a three-fold increase over the last seven years. Judging from the breathless headlines, the causation is clear. "Study Shows Sharp Rise in Accidents Involving Tuned-Out Pedestrians," reads the Chicago Tribune. "Fatal Distraction," says MSNBC. "Music to Die For," sneers the Post.
January 18, 2012
Pitchfork-Wielding Consumers Hold Auto Industry Hostage!
It’s sad, really. Tremendous gains in vehicle fuel efficiency have been squandered, MIT’s Christopher Knittel demonstrates in a study published in the American Economic Review. Knittel’s analysis quantifies how, while automakers have applied meaningful fuel economy innovations over the past several decades, these have produced only modest gains in miles per gallon, because at the same time the companies inflated horsepower and vehicle size. As MIT’s press release put it:
January 18, 2012
Getting Young People Back Into Cars Is Auto Industry Job #1
While the choked parking lots at many suburban high schools might mislead you, young people today are less interested in driving and owning cars than their counterparts in previous generations. This is happy news for environmentalists and complete streets advocates, who see fewer vehicles on the road as key to a healthier, wealthier society. For the global auto industry, though, it is an existential threat not to be ignored.
November 28, 2011
After Cyclist Vandalizes His Car, DenDekker Compares Self to Gabby Giffords
Just months ago, Queens Assembly Member Michael DenDekker was reaping widespread scorn for his proposal to require every cyclist in the state, even those just off their training wheels, to obtain a license. He also floated the idea of enforcing non-existent helmet laws with the widespread use of cameras. (He eventually withdrew the bike license legislation.)
June 10, 2011
Five Media Myths That Perpetuate Car Culture
Another day, another news story, another media outlet wielding an old saw like this one: High gas prices are a political problem for the president because Americans "love their cars." American car culture, fed by everything from our sprawled-out landscape to a daily bombardment of car ads, is also kept alive by journalists’ use of a set of hackneyed narratives. Beyond clichés, these storylines represent a collection of myths that shore up an unhealthy, unequal, and ultimately unsustainable car system.
May 23, 2011
Virginia Cops Flag Injured Pedestrians for Interference
Car-free New Yorkers have plenty to worry about these days, what with their crazy notions of personal safety under attack from seemingly all sides. But police in Woodbridge, Virginia are upping the ante by ticketing pedestrians hit by drivers. Via Grist and TBD, photographer Jay Mallin tells the tale: two men, hit on the same day on the same road, both airlifted to the hospital, both cited for "careless interference with traffic."
March 2, 2011