Car Culture
Streetsblog Basics
Cellular Industry Gives Big Tobacco a Run for Its Money
Concerns arose not long after it hit the market. External studies seemed to confirm what industry insiders feared: The product could pose a public health risk. But as sales soared, whistleblowers who didn't leave their jobs were forced to keep quiet. Companies maintained a posture of denial as a mountain of damning evidence, some of it from their own investigations, kept growing. Bowing to pressure, some consented to warning labels and other notices, but still insisted that claims of product-related injuries and deaths remained unproven.
December 8, 2009
Ooh! And Let’s Have Traffic Agents Wave Checkered Flags
Via our friends at Yanko Design, which last year brought us the virtual crosswalk wall, here's a horrible idea that's getting a lot of online exposure: the red light countdown. In case there might be a few drivers out there who don't already view the street grid as their personal grand prix course, this Serbian-designed signal ticks off the final seconds of the red cycle. We can practically hear the engines revving.
December 2, 2009
If a New Car Can Demolish an Old One, How Is a Human Expected to Fare?
To mark its 50th anniversary, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently pitted a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air against its contemporary counterpart, a 2009 Malibu, in a 40 mph crash test. As you can see in the video, the Malibu destroys its predecessor.
November 18, 2009
Streetfilms: Veronica Moss Goes to Times Square
She's back! Veronica Moss, D.C. lobbyist for the Automobile User Trade Organization (A.U.T.O.), recently returned to New York to get her first look at the new, pedestrian-friendly Times Square. Her views may rankle some in the livable streets camp, but we think it's important to note that some influential people out there just abhor walking, socializing, and the freedom to safely enjoy public spaces.
November 17, 2009
Use Your Phone to Find Parking! Just, Um, Not While Driving.
Try as they might, City Council members haven't cornered the market on ridiculous, counterproductive on-street parking "solutions." Now making its way to your neighborhood: "Parking Around Me," a new service that facilitates parking alerts between drivers via text message.
November 17, 2009
Will “Crash-Proof” Cars Make Drivers More Dangerous?
Via TreeHugger, Copenhagenize reports that Volvo is in the final stages of testing technology to improve safety for people outside its products -- a "pedestrian detection" system available in S60 models next year:
October 27, 2009
NYPD Amps Up Street Noise With the “Rumbler”
As if constant engine noise, gratuitous horn honking, booming stereos and screeching car alarms weren't enough of a collective imposition on millions of New Yorkers, NYPD is about to escalate the street-level aural arms race with the "Rumbler," a souped-up siren designed primarily to pierce the cocoon of obliviousness enshrouding city motorists.
October 26, 2009
Daily News on Distracted Cab Drivers: What’s the Big Deal?
In an apparent quest to see which local daily can issue the most ridiculously auto-centric assessment of the problems plaguing the public realm, the "New York" Post has some competition.
October 19, 2009
Are We Smarter Than a Third Grader? On Livable Streets, Maybe Not.
The inspiring and, in a way, infuriating story of Elli Giammona popped up on the Streetsblog Network over the weekend.
October 14, 2009