5 ms·

Cars are so incredibly destructive to society, in so many ways. But most people are so blasé about them.

apozem 5y ago
They really are. I’m reminded of George Miller, who created and directed the Mad Max movies. Those movies are about how cars are terrifying death machines that shred human bodies. Miller said he was “inspired” after working several years as an ER doctor, seeing the damage firsthand.
viburnum 5y ago
America has nearly twice the car death rate of Canada (and Canada hardly has substantially better weather or density than America). It's crazy.
- tyingq 5y ago
  The US does rate pretty high in "traffic deaths per 100k people". But they also lead the world in how much they drive. 8,800 kilometers per capita, versus 4,300 in Canada, 7,000 in Germany and less than 1,700 in Japan. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/12/13/why-the-u-s-trails-the-developed-world-on-traffic-deaths/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/12/13/why-the-u-s-trails-th... I'm sure there are other factors, but that would explain most of the difference vs Canada. Twice as much driving means twice as many traffic deaths per capita. Edit: Yes, I agree the US has work to do either way.
  - occz 5y ago
    Seems like something that should be rectified - the entirety of american society should be redesigned to reduce the amount of driving required.
    - throwaway4pooxi 5y ago
      Or we should continue to iterate and improve. You assume all the driving is required, a lot of driving is leisure. I do agree that cities should stop blowing tax payer money that should be spent on public transportation (looking at you 80 billion cali train) But I support a fragmented society where towns are connected by highways and interstates and trucks and cars can travel freely. Most of the disdain for cars come from city slickers burnt by traffic and lack of parking. It's a scaling problem, not a car problem. Fix your politicians.
    - mleonhard 5y ago
      Changing existing towns is almost impossible. It is possible to start a new town with new structure. I want to start a town with no personal powered vehicles. It's a project I've been researching for about 4 years.
  - leoedin 5y ago
    But even if you look at road deaths per billion km driven, the US still scores 7.3 - more than twice Norway's 3, or the UK's 3.4, and still a fair bit more than all those other countries. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic... Yes, the US drives more. But there's also room for improvement compared to the safest countries.
  - viburnum 5y ago
    Driving more miles is a bug not a feature. America should aim to reduce its miles driven by 50-75% to get its deaths in line with similar countries.
caconym_ 5y ago
Does anyone else feel like it's almost always a pickup truck? This article^[1] that I found a while back claims occupants of a car are 2.5 times more likely to die in a collision with a pickup truck than another car. It's an atrocity, and it's insane to me that it's almost totally absent from the public discourse. ^[1] https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight
- xvector 5y ago
  There are no reasonable pickup truck safety regulations in the US. Pickup trucks are simply not safe vehicles for other individuals around them. Some are so large that you can't even see small children in front. [0] The front of most pickup trucks is literally a flat wall, whereas most cars and SUVs have to design for potential pedestrian impact and whatnot. If you get hit by a pickup truck you will be pancaked, but if you get hit by a modern car you have a chance of surviving. You can thank lawmakers acting on the whims of corporate lobbyists for this. [1] It makes my blood boil, how our elected representatives so casually throw away lives of their citizens. 90% of pickup truck owners don't actually need their pickup trucks, but are allowed to buy and drive these incredibly dangerous vehicles regardless. In turn, this causes an escalating arms race - everyone else feels the need to buy an SUV or other large vehicle. Vehicles get heavier, bigger, and deadlier. The cycle continues. Part of the issue is that it's part of the self-image of red-blooded American manliness to own a pickup truck. It's ridiculous and childish, but owning a pickup truck is seen as cool and macho throughout large swaths of the country. It will be almost impossible to pass safety regulations against pickup trucks thanks to this population. [0]: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/the-hidden-dangers-of-big-trucks/ https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/the-hidden-danger... [1]: https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2020&ind=M02 https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2020...
- princekolt 5y ago
  Because it is. Getting hit by a pickup truck is much closer to being hit by a semi than by a compact car. Not only the shape is similar, but pickup trucks can be multiple times heavier than cars.
ausbah 5y ago
we're kind of stuck with them for the foreseeable future aren't we though at the very least we need stuff like roundabouts, no left turns, electric cars, etc
sakopov 5y ago
Most people are blasé? Most people don't have a choice because they don't live in San Francisco or New York where billions are spent on infrastructure and proper city planning which accommodates pedestrians and public transportation.
- mleonhard 5y ago
  Billions are spent on car infrastructure everywhere. The citizens have the choice and responsibility, but they continually vote from ignorance or selfishness.
- nxc18 5y ago
  It’s not about driving or not, it’s about whether you take the risks of driving seriously. Speeding around a motorcycle while going over a hill is a good example from the article. See also: distracted driving, DWI, driving while overtired, and all sorts of other behaviors that are super common. So many collisions are preventable if people just took driving seriously. I don’t think people are as conscious of the risks and dangers as they should be.
- princekolt 5y ago
  Most people don’t need a massive truck either.

They really are. I’m reminded of George Miller, who created and directed the Mad Max movies. Those movies are about how cars are terrifying death machines that shred human bodies. Miller said he was “inspired” after working several years as an ER doctor, seeing the damage firsthand.

viburnum 5y ago

America has nearly twice the car death rate of Canada (and Canada hardly has substantially better weather or density than America). It's crazy.

tyingq 5y ago
The US does rate pretty high in "traffic deaths per 100k people". But they also lead the world in how much they drive. 8,800 kilometers per capita, versus 4,300 in Canada, 7,000 in Germany and less than 1,700 in Japan. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/12/13/why-the-u-s-trails-the-developed-world-on-traffic-deaths/ https://usa.streetsblog.org/2018/12/13/why-the-u-s-trails-th... I'm sure there are other factors, but that would explain most of the difference vs Canada. Twice as much driving means twice as many traffic deaths per capita. Edit: Yes, I agree the US has work to do either way.
- occz 5y ago
  Seems like something that should be rectified - the entirety of american society should be redesigned to reduce the amount of driving required.
  - throwaway4pooxi 5y ago
    Or we should continue to iterate and improve. You assume all the driving is required, a lot of driving is leisure. I do agree that cities should stop blowing tax payer money that should be spent on public transportation (looking at you 80 billion cali train) But I support a fragmented society where towns are connected by highways and interstates and trucks and cars can travel freely. Most of the disdain for cars come from city slickers burnt by traffic and lack of parking. It's a scaling problem, not a car problem. Fix your politicians.
  - mleonhard 5y ago
    Changing existing towns is almost impossible. It is possible to start a new town with new structure. I want to start a town with no personal powered vehicles. It's a project I've been researching for about 4 years.
- leoedin 5y ago
  But even if you look at road deaths per billion km driven, the US still scores 7.3 - more than twice Norway's 3, or the UK's 3.4, and still a fair bit more than all those other countries. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic... Yes, the US drives more. But there's also room for improvement compared to the safest countries.
- viburnum 5y ago
  Driving more miles is a bug not a feature. America should aim to reduce its miles driven by 50-75% to get its deaths in line with similar countries.

caconym_ 5y ago

Does anyone else feel like it's almost always a pickup truck? This article^[1] that I found a while back claims occupants of a car are 2.5 times more likely to die in a collision with a pickup truck than another car. It's an atrocity, and it's insane to me that it's almost totally absent from the public discourse. ^[1] https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight

xvector 5y ago
There are no reasonable pickup truck safety regulations in the US. Pickup trucks are simply not safe vehicles for other individuals around them. Some are so large that you can't even see small children in front. [0] The front of most pickup trucks is literally a flat wall, whereas most cars and SUVs have to design for potential pedestrian impact and whatnot. If you get hit by a pickup truck you will be pancaked, but if you get hit by a modern car you have a chance of surviving. You can thank lawmakers acting on the whims of corporate lobbyists for this. [1] It makes my blood boil, how our elected representatives so casually throw away lives of their citizens. 90% of pickup truck owners don't actually need their pickup trucks, but are allowed to buy and drive these incredibly dangerous vehicles regardless. In turn, this causes an escalating arms race - everyone else feels the need to buy an SUV or other large vehicle. Vehicles get heavier, bigger, and deadlier. The cycle continues. Part of the issue is that it's part of the self-image of red-blooded American manliness to own a pickup truck. It's ridiculous and childish, but owning a pickup truck is seen as cool and macho throughout large swaths of the country. It will be almost impossible to pass safety regulations against pickup trucks thanks to this population. [0]: https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/the-hidden-dangers-of-big-trucks/ https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/the-hidden-danger... [1]: https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2020&ind=M02 https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips.php?cycle=2020...
princekolt 5y ago
Because it is. Getting hit by a pickup truck is much closer to being hit by a semi than by a compact car. Not only the shape is similar, but pickup trucks can be multiple times heavier than cars.

ausbah 5y ago

we're kind of stuck with them for the foreseeable future aren't we though at the very least we need stuff like roundabouts, no left turns, electric cars, etc

sakopov 5y ago

Most people are blasé? Most people don't have a choice because they don't live in San Francisco or New York where billions are spent on infrastructure and proper city planning which accommodates pedestrians and public transportation.

mleonhard 5y ago
Billions are spent on car infrastructure everywhere. The citizens have the choice and responsibility, but they continually vote from ignorance or selfishness.
nxc18 5y ago
It’s not about driving or not, it’s about whether you take the risks of driving seriously. Speeding around a motorcycle while going over a hill is a good example from the article. See also: distracted driving, DWI, driving while overtired, and all sorts of other behaviors that are super common. So many collisions are preventable if people just took driving seriously. I don’t think people are as conscious of the risks and dangers as they should be.
princekolt 5y ago
Most people don’t need a massive truck either.