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How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

freerangekids.com

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Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#401

Post by Cerium »

kittiepryde wrote: post #341
nvarsj wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is very true in London, unfortunately. Cars destroy the city - both by polluting it, and making walking and biking dangerous. Boris Johnson's goal as mayor was to optimise traffic flow through London, which just encouraged more cars. Going to a city like Cambridge where the center is shut down to cars is quite eye opening - lots of kids and people walking and biking. In London it's just a sea of cars driving and…

I am the USA, in like a suburb-ish area. And uh.. Cars on sidewalks? Is that common in London? How did that become a thing? It sounds super dangerous.

Depending on the city, it's a thing in China. Some areas will have so many cars and scooters parked on the sidewalk that everyone walks in the street.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#402

Post by saiya-jin »

umberway wrote: post #322
Asooka wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is one of the aspects that are most exciting for me about self-driving cars: no road rage, no hurrying, complete respect for road rules. You wouldn't have to do the "game of chicken" on the crosswalk where you start crossing, but in such a way that you can always bail out if the oncoming traffic doesn't stop. You wouldn't have to fear for your life when simply riding your bike on a wide street. You wouldn't be o…

Yes, more than that: if robot cars could be made incapable of hitting pedestrians, then children might start to roam again. It would be a marvellous unintended consequence...

that is impossible in real world. if you go 50 kmh in 50 kmh zone, and small kid jumps 2m in front of your car suddenly, there is nothing anybody or any software can do. if it's 5m, would you rather crash and kill the parents than the kid? what about 2 kids?

it's dangerous direction of thoughts, meaning kids won't have to be careful when outside. but you have bikes, you have tons of other dangers.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#403

Post by Cerium »

balabaster wrote: post #379
kittiepryde wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am the USA, in like a suburb-ish area. And uh.. Cars on sidewalks? Is that common in London? How did that become a thing? It sounds super dangerous.

It's an every day occurrence in London unfortunately. People park on sidewalks, cars parked down both sides of narrow streets with no room for cars to pass in opposite directions, you have to pull into gaps between parked cars to allow head on traffic to pass. In some places there you only have inches on either wing mirror to even pass through. If you've never been to London, you can't begin to appreciate the width o…

The Irish are just as crazy, they pass busses at highway (should I say motorway?) speeds on what I would call a one lane road. The busses suck together when they pass. It's terrifying.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#404

Post by ciaranm »

de_Selby wrote: post #370
ciaranm wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I make a point of banging on any vehicle that's nearly hit someone and not noticed/acknowledged it - regardless of whether it was me they nearly hit or not. People get mad (especially people driving vans/small trucks), but it's disgraceful that people are driving multi-tonne vehicles and are completely oblivious to their surroundings. I'm glad your daughter is ok.

As a cyclist it happens all the time, it goes something like this: 1) A car comes within centimeters of side swiping me and knocking me down. They don't even notice I'm there. 2) They stop at the next traffic light, I tap on the window to tell them to be more careful. 3) They get angry at me . 4) Other drivers see this interaction and soon you see articles in newspapers complaining about "militant cyclists"

Yes, this is mostly my experience as well. I had a delivery truck driver get out and start yelling abuse because I banged on the back of his vehicle to alert him that he nearly knocked a woman off her bike a couple days ago.

This isn't rare, either - there's at least 1 shouted interacted per week.

It's no wonder my friends are afraid to get on the roads/their bikes.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#405

Post by talmand »

Kluny wrote: post #114
FrancoDiaz wrote: post #10

I have a 4 year old, in my mid 40s, and think about this a lot for some reason. In the 70s during the summer, when I was around 7, we would wake up, eat breakfast, go out and about wherever we wanted, come back for lunch, out again, come back for dinner, and then out again past dark to play flashlight tag. I think I would be charged with child endangerment these days if my kid (3 years in the future) was doing stuff…

Media is part of it, but the other part is this, taken from the first comment on the linked article: "I can’t help but notice how many freeways and roads are between Sheffield and Rother Valley. We can’t blame parents alone for the loss of childhood freedom. Since 1919 We have purposely designed our cities to maximize vehicle throughput and require car ownership and the result is an environment that is lethal for 8 y…

Rivers of high-speed traffic in the city? Dude, I feel like I can't allow my kids to walk alone to school that's four blocks over in my own neighborhood without some nanny state enabler calling child services on me.

Hell, I don't let them play in the front yard and wonder how long it'll be before I get the knock on the door because I let them play unsupervised in the fenced backyard with a trained full-grown German shepherd on watch.

Things are seriously screwed up.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#406

Post by ransom1538 »

FrancoDiaz wrote: post #10

I have a 4 year old, in my mid 40s, and think about this a lot for some reason. In the 70s during the summer, when I was around 7, we would wake up, eat breakfast, go out and about wherever we wanted, come back for lunch, out again, come back for dinner, and then out again past dark to play flashlight tag. I think I would be charged with child endangerment these days if my kid (3 years in the future) was doing stuff…

Or. Just google child predators in your neighborhood. Some states require these databases updated regularly. Statistically you should have one within walking distance. Sleep tight!

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#407

Post by JabavuAdams »

m_mueller wrote: post #136
JabavuAdams wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My main concern would be traffic. I live in an affluent neighbourhood with a lot of stressed people driving SUVs. I've had a car run over my foot. On one occasion, my kids had to be yanked out of the way by their mother to avoid being hit by a left-turning car that didn't see them. My impression is that the Swiss are more fastidious about following traffic regulations. Is this outdated?

It probably depends on the location in the US, but every time I go there I find Americans amazingly relaxed when driving. Swiss are probably some of the more careful drivers in continental Europe (which is to say they're slow), but I think it's still way more nervous than in the US. However, one of the issues is probably the sheer size of US roads, it's just much harder to cross I think. And from my own experience, k…

This is in Toronto, Canada, but we share a lot of US behaviours.

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#409

Post by thrownblown »

balabaster wrote: post #379
kittiepryde wrote: post #341

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am the USA, in like a suburb-ish area. And uh.. Cars on sidewalks? Is that common in London? How did that become a thing? It sounds super dangerous.

It's an every day occurrence in London unfortunately. People park on sidewalks, cars parked down both sides of narrow streets with no room for cars to pass in opposite directions, you have to pull into gaps between parked cars to allow head on traffic to pass. In some places there you only have inches on either wing mirror to even pass through. If you've never been to London, you can't begin to appreciate the width o…

you need to start a СтопХам[0] UK Chapter because, in free-market Russia, pedestrians park on you.

[0]https://www.youtube.com/user/Lomak1581

Re: How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations

#410

Post by bigmanwalter »

balabaster wrote: post #391
NoGravitas wrote: post #371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Suburbs are really the worst of both worlds. City and rural both have their appeals. Suburbs have nothing .

The suburbs truly are a barren wasteland of nothing. Without your car, they're a soul sucking prison with all the rules of the city and none of the pay-offs. I now live in rural Canada. I've spent much of my adult life living in dense cities after having grown up in rural England - London, Vancouver, Houston, Toronto. You can't compare the advantages of either environment - rural or city, but the suburbs truly are th…

That was beautiful :) I'm stealing your closing line.
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