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Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

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Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#421

Post by badpun »

eru wrote: post #233
krisoft wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The court decided that the driver was at no fault as it was impossible to see the girl from his position. I hope that means that the vehicle manufacturer is on a murder trial then. But I do not have illusions that this will lead to actual change.

Well, the driver should also be on the hook for driving such a dangerous machine in the first place.

The vehicle was cleared for use on public roads by authorities. Perhaps the laws should change so that such cars are no longer allowed.

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#422

Post by ProfessorLayton »

tb_technical wrote: post #360
ponector wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fuel tax is the best solution. Pay as you go. More fuel you consume more emissions you produce, more distance you go, more road your wear occurs. Do you want to get 8l V8 engine? Fine, just pay your fuel taxes.

This is a silly tangential point, but with good design a V8 can be as efficient as an I4 (and with bad design a V6 can be more wasteful than a V8). Pinning fuel use seems to be the way to go, rather than penalizing engine geometry, for this reason. It's important to remember, though, that semi-trucks get 5-8 miles to the gallon due to their weight/purpose. Perhaps these new fuel taxes should only affect classes other…

>t's important to remember, though, that semi-trucks get 5-8 miles to the gallon due to their weight/purpose. Perhaps these new fuel taxes should only affect classes other than A, B, and C to avoid knock-on effects.

What's interesting here is that semi-trucks cause exponentially more wear and tear on the roads than consumer vehicles, while not paying the corresponding fuel tax — they're being subsidized by everyday drivers.

Also the knock on effects may not be completely negative, it could mean that it isn't economical to drive a truck door-to-door filled with low value merchandise (And give retail a fighting chance).

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#423

Post by badpun »

vjk800 wrote: post #211
bedobi wrote: post #29

The design of the physical environment is in no small part responsible for this. Don't believe me go to Europe and Japan where kids are still allowed to walk and bike to school, to friends places and just in general play and exist outside unattended to a much higher degree than in the US. Because in the US they would be roadkill, and even if they somehow survived outside of a car, car centric design means there's now…

After-WW2 development has been largely the same everywhere - more cars, wider roads, etc. Also in Europe and Japan cities an neighbourhoods that were built after WW2 are often very hostile to pedestrians while those built before are walkable. The biggest cities of Europe (Paris, Amsterdam, etc.) are pretty historical and thus are walkable. However, where I live - Finland that is - much of the country has been built i…

Communist countries built large cities for pedestrians and public transit. I grew up in a place like that, it was an amazing place for a kid. School was a 5 minutes walk away, there were hardly any cars within hunrdeds of meters of my building. There were large green yards, playgrounds etc. for kids. Very quiet, very family friendly. It was largely contingent on most people not being able to afford cars, and not missing them that much due to decent public transit.

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#424

Post by HideousKojima »

AmVess wrote: post #281
gnz11 wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each US state has a gas tax already. Higher gas prices also don’t seem to stop people from buying giant trucks and SUVs.

A reasonable well optioned truck is $75,000. People who can afford to spend that are immune from high gas prices.

$75,000 is waaaay beyond "reasonable" and "well optioned." I got my used Ford F-150 with about 220,000 miles for about $3,000, but there are plenty of actually reasonable trucks with good options in the $15,000-$30,000 range. And I'm definitely not immune to gas prices, I only take my truck when it's for something that I can't reasonably do in our Elantra, or when my wife is out somewhere in the Elatra and I need to drive somewhere.

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#425

Post by HideousKojima »

denkmoon wrote: post #118
causality0 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We need reforms to the method the EPA uses to calculate and enforce fuel efficiency requirements. It's the direct driver of the gigantifucation of vehicles.

People's desires are the direct driver of gigantification of vehicles. I assure you nobody buying a RAM or F150 gives two shits about EPA or fuel efficiency.

Nonsense, I'd much rather drive a Tacoma but my F-150 was far cheaper. My ultimate preference would be a more modern (and safer) version of those Japanese trucks a lot of people import, but that's a legal/political issue. My super ultimate preference is a Hilux with a .50 cal mounted in the bed but I can't get the CIA to fund my organization yet.

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#426

Post by lukan »

ruined wrote: post #337
lukan wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"along with those super bright headlamps that ruin your night vision when they're equipped on an oncoming vehicle." I hate them. I dream of the day, when proper night vision gear with the result displayed to the front window will be standard in cars, so all the cars can have no, or very soft lights to drive around savely at night. Also, why not heat vision to better spot humans (and animals)? For the AI as well as th…

photonic intensifiers are ITAR controlled, but china has started manufacturing gen2 equivalents recently. digital is controlled but more widely made, but also barely worth it. the real issue is how to display it. for head-mounted setups it's essentially full field of view, and in monocular use combination is subconscious, but it's still rather awkward and requires practice. you can't achieve the same effect on a wind…

"the real issue is how to display it"

Unfortunately, yes. I know that there are various sci-fi solutions in the labs already, of projecting the image directly into the eye, or correctly on the windshield while taking the head position of the driver into account, but it probably takes a long time till they are a) reliable b) affordable c) standard in every car

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#427

Post by dividefuel »

bedobi wrote: post #29

The design of the physical environment is in no small part responsible for this. Don't believe me go to Europe and Japan where kids are still allowed to walk and bike to school, to friends places and just in general play and exist outside unattended to a much higher degree than in the US. Because in the US they would be roadkill, and even if they somehow survived outside of a car, car centric design means there's now…

I don't disagree that urban planning is a factor, but I think there's more to this.

A very common theme when talking to people in the US is "this neighborhood used to have so many more kids out and about!" Even in the neighborhood I grew up in, where my parents still live, there are far fewer kids around, even though the neighborhood's design and car traffic haven't changed at all.

Where are they? Are their parents driving them from place to place? Are they staying inside staring at screens? Or are there simply fewer kids due to falling birthrates?

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#428

Post by tarmon »

AmVess wrote: post #283
crooked-v wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My particular bugbear here is the absolutely insanity of truck and SUV heights, to the point that even full-grown adults are no longer clearly visible from inside new vehicles ( https://i.imgur.com/1dHWVxn.png ).

Even worse? Pop the hood on one and marvel at all the empty space. Those giant front ends are purely for looks.

On the other hand that space makes it far easier to work on myself.

My Subaru has almost zero free space under the hood and there are all kinds of repairs I wouldn't attempt because you have to disassemble half the engine to get to anything.

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#429

Post by frumper »

fzeroracer wrote: post #95
ars wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most suburbs are like this.

Most suburbs? What suburbs are you referring to, exactly? The 'burbs I grew up in there was nothing nearby in a two mile radius. The only access to school was via bus or having my parents drive.

I'd be curious to know what suburb is so awful, so I don't move there.

Re: Deterioration of local community a major driver of loss of play-based childhood

#430

Post by vidarh »

newswasboring wrote: post #401
vidarh wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For which claim? That people have an impression that things have gotten worse? You look at our recent European elections and how much of the campaigning was on law and order and the perception of the collapse of society.

Now you are moving the goal post. And if you ask me, those are just masks for inner racism about immigrants stealing their jerbs. I live in Europe and I don't see this being a big consideration. So if I'm not hearing it from my fellows then I would need at least a survey to believe this. I've seen those surveys for US.

No, I have not moved any goalposts. I explicitly made the point that the impression is common, despite the actual numbers not supporting it. That was the entire point of my comment. I don't know what you thought you read.

And I agree it's usually about racism.

If you live in Europe, just look at the EU Parliament elections and see how the far right did. Or follow the political discourse in pretty much any European country.

If you're not hearing it, your not paying attention to pretty much any political reporting.

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