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Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

economist.com

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Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#371

Post by welzel »

There is a simple solution for this problem: increase the payout for people who are affected by overweight vehicles.

Have a law, define a target weight + speed and then make it REALLY expensive to insure or kill people with your car.

Also in the law: if you drive around without insurance, the car is instantly taken away from you, as it is a weapon to conduct a crime :-)

Still people will drive big cars around, but the market will limit the number of people who can pay for it. And of course: new cars only and when ownership is transferred. No additional tax for existing owners.

The market would solve this problem VERY VERY quickly.

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#373

Post by dgfitz »

globular-toast wrote: post #354
dgfitz wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As for cold, dark, raining. Boo fucking hoo. If you had to go somewhere you'd deal with it. Cars have made people into weak, incapable little creatures. It's honestly pathetic. You clearly have no respect for Mother Nature if this is your stance. Take care.

I do, so when I'm in the mountains I check the forecast and keep an eye on the weather. But when I'm in town? You think people are getting caught out by the weather and stranded in town ? Where exactly is this "town" you speak of?

> You think people are getting caught out by the weather and stranded in town?

Maybe your issue is reading comprehension. I never suggested anything about anyone getting fucking stranded, stop putting words in my mouth.

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#374

Post by therealdrag0 »

dgfitz wrote: post #366
amrocha wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rest of the world can be like Tokyo, that's the important part. Weather is not a good enough reason for why we need cars in cities.

No, it’s can’t. Full stop, end of argument. You clearly are not well-traveled if you believe this.

Why not? What is so special about Tokyo/Japanese that it can’t be emulated?

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#375

Post by erik_seaberg »

jltsiren wrote: post #279
Stagnant wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it is fair to say that it is an "American problem". Not owning a car could be realistic if you live in a really large city where moving with public transport can potentially be faster than moving with a car. But even then I wonder how a family with kids would carry groceries unless you live right next to a supermarket. Often times in HN you get the impression like americans are the only ones using cars…

If you live in a city, you typically go to a supermarket 3-5 times a week. And if your family is small enough to fit in a normal car, you can easily carry the groceries. Those trips don't take too much time either, because urban supermarkets are smaller than suburban hypermarkets and designed for quick visits.

That's a lot more time and effort than should be necessary. You should have at least a week of food just to prepare for an emergency.

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#376

Post by therealdrag0 »

dgfitz wrote: post #331
PsylentKnight wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I walked to get groceries today, so I guess we're even on the anecdata In cities that aren't completely car-centric and have mixed-use development, you don't need a car to get groceries, because everything is close enough to walk. Again, plenty of countries do this just fine, proving it is not impossible.

Never said it was impossible. It’s not the reality that we live in. Most of the world is not a town or city of temperate climate where everything is within a half hour walk or bike ride. I will never understand how this point is just glossed over and excused away. Ignoring the boundaries of reality doesn’t make said boundaries magically go away.

You seem to be assuming the way it is cannot be changed when much of the relevant factors are human choices that can be done differently. I love my car but I’m really confused why you’re so aggressive about thinking cars are the only way to live.

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#377

Post by therealdrag0 »

coliveira wrote: post #158
bradley13 wrote: post #95

Easy fix: If you want less of something, tax it. The race to ever bigger vehicles has many costs, from road wear to (now we know) human lives. You pay an annual registration fee for your vehicle. Make that fee go up dramatically for heavier vehicles. If you pay, say, $100 for a car under a ton, make it $1k for up to two tons, $10k for 3 tons, etc..

They know how to avoid this, because heavy autos are considered utility vehicles. They'll claim this is bad for the economy because small companies need access to utility vehicles.

Tax deduction if you need it for business so it’s not a burden, just like lots of other existing taxes.

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#378

Post by therealdrag0 »

Xenoamorphous wrote: post #241
creer wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They drive with a discipline / care that Americans refuse to even consider. Perhaps Americans should.

It’s funny, because my very anecdotal experience is very different. I’ve been to the US and Germany only once. In Berlin I didn’t drive, but saw the weirdest thing multiple times: when the traffic lights turned green sometimes the drivers of the cars up front would just go flat out, tyre screching and all, only to stop at the next traffic light 100 meters away. Really odd. On the other hand I had to drive many kilome…

US varies widely. California drivers are pretty wild. A 65 mph highway will have half the cars going 80, many tailgating. Many don’t let you merge if you use blinker. Michigan can be similarly fast, but less aggressive. PNW is much more reasonable/safe.

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#379

Post by M95D »

AdrianB1 wrote: post #236
closewith wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where in Europe is that? In Ireland, displacement-based taxes were replaced by emission taxes 14 years ago. I think most countries have followed suite.

Romania, but neighboring countries have similar systems.

> We do it different in Europe

> Romania

Oh, please stop using Romania as an example for Europe. We're the banana country here.

Re: Americans' love affair with big cars is killing them

#380

Post by pants2 »

welzel wrote: post #371

There is a simple solution for this problem: increase the payout for people who are affected by overweight vehicles. Have a law, define a target weight + speed and then make it REALLY expensive to insure or kill people with your car. Also in the law: if you drive around without insurance, the car is instantly taken away from you, as it is a weapon to conduct a crime :-) Still people will drive big cars around, but th…

Truckers are required to have commercial licenses which makes traffic violations considerably harsher and more expensive. It would make sense to at least extend that to all vehicles over 5,000 lbs. Someone speeding in an F350 can cause a LOT more damage than someone speeding in a Miata, so penalties should be proportional.
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