5 ms·

Before you put too much blame on car culture you should know a few things about Japan. First, cars are cheap, and lots of people drive. However, lots of the sam

by jzwinck 11y ago

Before you put too much blame on car culture you should know a few things about Japan. First, cars are cheap, and lots of people drive. However, lots of the same people also have a bicycle which they use for short trips including grocery shopping. People also walk. This means drivers have more empathy for people not in cars. Second, the speed limits are low. Some decent looking roads are 50 kph whereas in America they would be 45 mph, about 50 percent faster. Third, children walking to and from school wear fluorescent helmets. This is a safety precaution American children would not tolerate for themselves or on others.

lovemenot 11y ago
>> Third, children walking to and from school wear fluorescent helmets Just bright-coloured soft hats. Not helmets, which would imply head-protection.
- dba7dba 11y ago
  I wish adult joggers in US would please wear reflective something when running on street. Few days ago I pissed off a biker and a jogger because I didn't see them in time to stop at a safe distance away from them. Guess what? BOTH were wearing BLACK shirt/shorts. Because they were running from my 10 oclock to 2 oclock (outside of cone of headlights), I just couldn’t see them.
dba7dba 11y ago
South Korea (especially Seoul) is a similar case. A high percentage of people you see in the Seoul subways actually own cars. Lots of office workers leave their sedans/suvs in the garages of their highrise apartment complexes on regular workdays. They usually walk/bus/subway to/from work. This is because of the crush of traffic at rush hour. You just end up stressed out if you try to drive around in Seoul at rush hour in certain areas. Much less stress/time if you just walk/subway. The cars are usually driven on weekends for family trip.
- kuschku 11y ago
  Similar situation in many German cities. Or, if you work in one suburb and live in another, you drive to work, but then whenever you go shopping or anything you walk/take bus/metro/etc.
e40 11y ago
This means drivers have more empathy for people not in cars. The point you make is extremely important. In my dreams: People caught not yielding to pedestrians are sentenced to walking 3 miles a day for a month on busy city streets. I do this every day (4 miles), and I can tell you, there is not a day that goes by that I see the most horrible behavior from drivers. I can only assume, since I don't believe it's because they are all horrible people, they just have no empathy for pedestrians and can't imagine the consequences of their behavior. Like the mom-looking lady that turned left with me in her path in the cross walk. She saw me. Turned anyway. Stopped in the lane with oncoming traffic and pushed into the cross walk (directly toward me) and looked exasperated as to why I was in her way. Does anyone thing, if a car was about to ram her that she wouldn't sacrifice me? I don't.

by jzwinck 11y ago

lovemenot 11y ago

>> Third, children walking to and from school wear fluorescent helmets Just bright-coloured soft hats. Not helmets, which would imply head-protection.

dba7dba 11y ago
I wish adult joggers in US would please wear reflective something when running on street. Few days ago I pissed off a biker and a jogger because I didn't see them in time to stop at a safe distance away from them. Guess what? BOTH were wearing BLACK shirt/shorts. Because they were running from my 10 oclock to 2 oclock (outside of cone of headlights), I just couldn’t see them.

dba7dba 11y ago

South Korea (especially Seoul) is a similar case. A high percentage of people you see in the Seoul subways actually own cars. Lots of office workers leave their sedans/suvs in the garages of their highrise apartment complexes on regular workdays. They usually walk/bus/subway to/from work. This is because of the crush of traffic at rush hour. You just end up stressed out if you try to drive around in Seoul at rush hour in certain areas. Much less stress/time if you just walk/subway. The cars are usually driven on weekends for family trip.

kuschku 11y ago
Similar situation in many German cities. Or, if you work in one suburb and live in another, you drive to work, but then whenever you go shopping or anything you walk/take bus/metro/etc.

e40 11y ago

This means drivers have more empathy for people not in cars. The point you make is extremely important. In my dreams: People caught not yielding to pedestrians are sentenced to walking 3 miles a day for a month on busy city streets. I do this every day (4 miles), and I can tell you, there is not a day that goes by that I see the most horrible behavior from drivers. I can only assume, since I don't believe it's because they are all horrible people, they just have no empathy for pedestrians and can't imagine the consequences of their behavior. Like the mom-looking lady that turned left with me in her path in the cross walk. She saw me. Turned anyway. Stopped in the lane with oncoming traffic and pushed into the cross walk (directly toward me) and looked exasperated as to why I was in her way. Does anyone thing, if a car was about to ram her that she wouldn't sacrifice me? I don't.