When will we stop tolerating the flagrant waste of life that occurs every day as a result of our addiction and worship of the automobile?
Never too soon to use a celebrity's death to further an anti-automobile agenda, eh?
Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
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Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#72So very sad. I personally think the world would be a much better place if cars were relegated to intercity travel and walking/biking/public transit were the only means of intracity movement. The world would be cleaner and in all likelihood much healthier, and needless accidents like this would be avoided. RIP.
Unfortunately, this is not remotely feasible in many of the most populated cities of the US, nor many of the rural cities. [0] It's a nice thought, but not one that could ever happen. Till we learn to drive responsibly and be aware of our environment as a matter of course, these accidents will continue to happen. RIP. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/05/c...
"JonSkeptic"..not surprised by the sentiment of your comment.
I think it is feasible..certainly not in all cities and maybe not in any established cities..but some small cities could implement such a solution. That or entirely new cities could be created with this design.
Just require cars to be parked when entering city limits and traded for a golf cart or Segway or something of the sort. The boundaries could be expanded as the city grows if the idea was popular..
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#73This is terrible, but I wonder if there's a technical way we can provide a black box for bicyclists so that these sorts of injustices don't go unpunished. RIP :(.
A camera mounted on the bike/helmet is the best solution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqSp4XZX0CU
It's not much of a solution. I'm at work so I couldn't listen to the video, but I watched it. It seemed like he managed to capture what the car looks like (kinda sorta), but what is really needed is something that can reliably capture the license plate.
There was one frame in this video where the license plate was sort of visible, but not readible.
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
Funny how the video also shows them running a stop sign. I think you have to follow lights and stop signs even in the bike lane, right?
Not necessarily. In some regions cyclists are legally allowed to treat a stop sign as a yield sign.
Greatest law on earth. Saves me so much time every single day. I have to pass down my street which has 15+ stop signs just to get to the main intersection.
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#75The family wanted to keep this off social media for now. Unfortunate that you posted this.
Free charity project idea:
Create a space (website) with a voicemail phone number, guestbook, etc, designed to accept people who want to reach out to a victim of a current tragedy. Then when the news spreads, spreader include a link to something like http://reachout.to/sethvidal
So that the interested acquaintances and public can go there for official information, memorial info, and to share their thoughts, privately or publicly with pre-moderation.
Obviously, it should be quick an easy for the grief-stricked to flip on a site, and follow up with it later.
You can't stop people talking about the incident, but you can help direct people away from frustrating the victims/families with emails/calls.
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not necessarily. In some regions cyclists are legally allowed to treat a stop sign as a yield sign.
This sounds like an incredibly bad idea. This pushes even more responsibility onto the person operating several thousand pounds of metal, assuming they will make the correct snap judgement when a bike they didn't see rides out in front of them. It seems to me the bike riders have a lot more to lose at that stop sign than any car driver who doesn't see the bike.
If it's a yield sign, then the biker should be going slowly enough that they can stop quickly upon seeing a car.
You don't go full speed through a yield sign in a car, and you don't on a bike either.
That law also applies only in Idaho.
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
When we can find a viable, safer alternative. The automobile has been a staple of growth of modern society since it's invention. There's no other current form of transportation that can be a drop in fit. But in reality, no matter the form of transportation, there will be deaths involved, be it accidental or not. It's a fact of life. Sad, but inevitable.
"But in reality, no matter the form of transportation, there will be deaths involved" Sure, but: 1. This was a hit-and-run, a problem that is unique to automobiles. Buses and trains do not have a significant hit-and-run issue; they are operated by people whose job is to operate them, and they are on regular, organized schedules. 2. Automobiles are among the most dangerous forms of transportation. On the whole, though…
The "run" part is really the only part that is unique to automobiles, but that part has nothing to do with the danger posed.
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
But you've got it backwards. The point is that the "spread out" nature you're talking about was created with the idea in mind that everyone will have a car and will drive. That was a conscious decision, and not a necessary one. Also realize that it was by design that you don't view having a car to be the luxury.
I'm fairly certain that the US was large and spread out well before cars were invented.
On a large scale, yes. But urban sprawl is directly caused by the automobile.
The design of US cities is just godawful from any perspective (environmental, social, business efficiency, crime rates, ghettoization, etc), compared to those in Europe. I'm fairly certain that Manhattan and San Francisco are so vibrant and livable largely because they're constrained by geographical barriers.
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#79When will we stop tolerating the flagrant waste of life that occurs every day as a result of our addiction and worship of the automobile?
Don't feed the trolls people.
Re: Seth Vidal, creator of yum, killed in hit and run accident
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
But you've got it backwards. The point is that the "spread out" nature you're talking about was created with the idea in mind that everyone will have a car and will drive. That was a conscious decision, and not a necessary one. Also realize that it was by design that you don't view having a car to be the luxury.
I'm fairly certain that the US was large and spread out well before cars were invented.
Sure, it was always large, but suburban sprawl was not always a thing. As cars became ubiquitous, things got more spread out, and designed with cars as the assumed primary mode of transportation. This was not necessarily a good idea.