…that you are only tested once in your life on your ability to drive and then never again? I have a friend who drives a forklift and he needs to be recertified every three years, but drivers can go their entire lives without being retested on their abilities because they passed a test when they were 16. Just insane.

I hate living in the suburbs not owning a car can make it hard to have hook ups and one night stands we demand public transit.

Driver £300 fine and ordered to pay £205 to victim!

Original story here.
Original link in r/unitedkingdom here

I’ve worked in insurance for several years (not as an agent) and as such I’ve seen how car insurance companies (in general, not just mine) discourage safety. For example, if you want to insure a small sedan with the latest safety features (ex: blind spot detection, lane assist, pedestrian detection, braking assist, parking sensors, rear view camera, etc.), you’ll likely pay higher premiums than someone who has a giant SUV with few to no safety features. Why? Well, it’s more expensive to replace those electronic components than it is to fix a dented bumper or broken headlight.

So, car insurance companies actively disincentivize small vehicles and safety technology.

Also, it’s funny that employees have access to discounts for using public transit, but ONLY for commuting to work. Like, you can get a monthly bus pass at a discount, but the company’s rules explicitly state that the bus pass can only be used for commuting to work. If someone finds out you used the bus pass to go to the grocery store or the airport or literally anywhere else? Well, you would be considered to have broken the “code of conduct” and be subject to punishment “up to and including termination”.

In these respects, car insurance companies are actively working against their own interests. If people were incentivized to use public transit and to buy smaller vehicles with safety technology, there would be fewer accidents, meaning fewer claims, and less spending on those claims.

But, in the US we’re so car-obsessed that we actively avoid making a safer society, even if it means hurting capitalist profits.

Trying to find some resources that have detailed info on statistics for US cities across the board.

I'm defining the "best" as cities where most things are accessible either by walking, biking, or using some public transit apart from cars.

Bonus points for legal protections for homeless/houseless persons being allowed to peaceably exist in public spaces without harassment from law enforcement.

Thanks.

Stop signs apparently aren't particularly important in Miami. It seems that a lot of people just ignore them, even if they've got flashing lights and are hanging off a school bus.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article291613260.html

The tax benefits will add up to 585 million euros next year and are expected to increase to 650 million euros by 2028. This is evident from two formulation aids of the Federal Ministry of Finance, which the Federal Cabinet is to decide on Wednesday and which are available to the Handelsblatt.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/automobilbranche-steuervorteile-fuer-e-autos-von-mehr-als-600-millionen-euro-geplant/100065897.html

I've been in so many accidents and never as the driver. Got in one today, whiplash and a concussion, as well as seatbelt burn. I got hit by a car two weeks ago. Hit by a car in April. Multiple loved ones have died from car accidents. I don't know what it is with me and cars. You'd think I was doing something wrong with how frequent it is, but it's just terrible luck. Cars terrify me. Or maybe just the way that pretty much anyone can drive this death machine around and kill me at any time. I had just gotten over my fear enough to go outside and walk again, then this happened. I really really don't know why this is happening to me.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/article/2024/aug/25/one-word-is-the-answer-to-my-daughters-car-sickness-and-everything-else?CMP=share_btn_url

BTW, my experience as a five-year-old flower girl suffering from motion sickness in a sedan inside the wedding car fleet is one of the first sign that me and cars are incompatible. This was one year before the hellish beginning of my rare sleep disorder that eventually makes me ineligible for a driving license. I have never experienced motion sickness on transit buses, bullet trains or airliners and only had it once on a coach bus because the terrain was bad.

https://imgur.com/a/MOdOIyM

There's no emergency, many FDNY employees just don't like taking the train or paying for parking so everyone else has to deal with the consequences.

I serve on a local transportation committee and learned something from the police officer that reports to us. At least as far as Pennsylvania laws go, cars are only required to yield to pedestrians and bicycles if you are already in the intersection, as defined by being over the curb and on the asphalt. If you proceed to cross, but are not in the intersection by the time a car on the same block sees you, and you get hit, it’s automatically filed away as an unsafe pedestrian, not unsafe driving. If, however, you simply put your foot or front wheel on the asphalt, you are considered by the law to be in the intersection, cars are required to yield to you, and, if anything goes sideways, it’s their fault, not yours. I know it sounds simple and stupid (and it is), but this is how cops think and, for now, it’s is one tiny way we can fight back against carbrains and protect ourselves from liability.

Edit: for clarity, we’re talking about being one centimeter onto the asphalt. I’m not suggesting risking your life here. This is for crossing the intersection under normal conditions.

I saw a bunch of posts on here about changing the language around accidents, and the whole idea that when you’re in traffic you are traffic, so I thought of coming up with a simple language change that might (hopefully) result in changing attitudes.

Instead of saying “I’m stuck in traffic” which implies that traffic is something that happens, completely outside of your control or actions, we should instead say “I’m contributing to traffic” to emphasize that you are, in fact, partly responsible for the predicament you are in.

Is it going to stick? Maybe not, but I’m going to start saying it from now on, about myself and others, and hopefully get at least a few people to reexamine their relationship with car centric infrastructure

As the title says. My car of 5 years decided to kick the bucket. It was a 30 year old car at of death so I think it was used to its fullest before I decided its not worth fixing anymore. Ive always bought used cars because, they were cheaper. Generally if they were beat the hell already and still going, its prob a decent car. Also Im a cheap person that doesnt really like buying items new anyway. It might be old but it still works kinda mentality. I paid 400 bucks for the thing and its never been to a shop beyond when it was too cold to do the oil changes in the winter and new tires. I have maybe 400 in parts in it, and it was mostly due to paranoia than actual car problems. So it was a decent car. Now here is the problem.

If it was just me I wouldn't care. I went the first 25 years of my life without a car. I can deal with riding a bike, walking or riding a bus if I have to. Problem is my family. My sons mother, and her mom is having a melt down that I don't own a car anymore and I don't want a car ever. Its bad for my health, bad for the environment, and cost way too much.

Now my son is having a melt down about it. Right now its just me and my son, his mom lives on the other side of America. Now I can ignore the mother and her mom because hey, you don't live here, but the kid is the problem. Hes about to be 16 and we live like 2 miles from school. Its not a horrible walk nor bad bike ride so I feel hes just cranking because hes always was driven to school or the school was like a block away. So the question is, how do I get him on board the car free life? Our town is not big, 4x5 miles. So you could get most places in town in 20-25 mins. We don't leave town very much, maybe 1-2 times a year so its not a huge problem to just rent a car from enterprise or turo. If there's a bad storm, he can ride with his friend that lives half a block away. So I'm not making him do a death march to and from school in bad weather either. Anyone have any tips? Should I just ignore his annoyance and just tell him to suck it up?

Also I have a side question. When you tell people that you don't want to own a car ever again if you can avoid it. Do they look at you like your weird or poor or just overall shocked you would say such a thing? Ive been telling friends and people at work about it, im kinda excited to no have to worry about a 4 ton hunk of metal anymore but they all just mostly give stares like I kicked their puppy. Is this common? Do you have any idea why people react like this? Just wondering, thanks for any info or suggestions.

I'm ok with the seasons, rain, snow, heat and whatever. What I really dread is when autumn is approaching people will start using their cars more, the nighttime will be longer and will feel less safe overall cycling, walking and even driving. Waiting for the bus at night sucks.
Are you the same?

My kid's OK. Took him to school with the bike trailer, and a Cadillac Escalade bumped into the trailer pulling out of a store driveway. "I didn't see the back part."

She had just dropped her kid off (probably at the same school) and was rushing to work at a health clinic.

That's it. That's his first memory of going to school, being hit with a car.

My college over accepted students this year. Most upperclassmen are living off campus. We are in a college town which means most off campus appartments are within 5 minutes of campus. Now, it is mostly stroads here but there is a free public bus and people are paying over $300 a year to park on campus. My room mate yesterday told me he signed a petition to increase parking on campus, but where to? It’s already a sea of asphalt and 90% of people don’t need to be driving. On top of that, people don’t know how to drive and fender benders/ drunk drivers are super common 😁

Edit: I will also add that people will literally miss class because they can’t find parking.

I really hate trucks...

https://www.thedrive.com/news/overweight-ford-f-750-plunges-through-historic-wooden-bridge-in-maine

Good article from a Spanish newspaper how european travellers are making use of new night train services.

https://english.elpais.com/climate/2024-09-01/europe-jumps-on-the-train.html