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Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

theatlantic.com

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Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#221

Post by throw0101a »

saiya-jin wrote: post #211
mkagenius wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In India if you strike a pedestrian anywhere, you can yell at him for being a nuisance and be on your way. Pedestrians have 0 value in terms of life in India.

Aren't there some videos of some drivers in China doing reverse to make sure the person they hit is dead to not having to cover medical bills? People can do horrible things once money get involved.

Yes, there are such cases. Though how often this occurs is up for debate:

* https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chinese-drivers-kill-pedes...

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#222

Post by nradov »

systemtest wrote: post #149
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, what!? In Europe if you strike a pedestrian on the crosswalk you'll definitely loose your license and be looking at manslaughter charges too while your insurance company will murder you after paying the victim's medical/disability/court bills.

I have hit a pedestrian. Instead of using the nearby crosswalk she walked in between the cars and when she walked in front of me it was too late for me to brake. She flew a couple of meters and landed on the crosswalk. In the police report is was stated that I hit the person on the crosswalk as I couldn't prove otherwise. The woman was taken away in an ambulance due to a broken leg. I was 16 at the time. Really shake…

Everyone should have a dashcam for situations like this.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#223

Post by anotherthro313 »

methodover wrote: post #43

“Given New York’s lax enforcement record, the Freakonomics podcast described running over pedestrians there as “the perfect crime.”” I was driving in Oakland when the car in front of me didn’t slow down for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. The pedestrian disappeared in front of the car. I stopped my car, got out, found the struck young woman trembling and bleeding in the street. The speed limit was 30 miles per hour. I…

Americans pretty much only care about themselves. It's evident if you watch the way they drive and road rage. The insanity, super fat people in cars driving 1/2 a mile to McDonalds, screaming at everybody along the way who happens to "get in their way", never understanding that "they aren't stuck in travel, they are travel".

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#224

Post by sokoloff »

gavia1 wrote: post #215
mytailorisrich wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are eliminated and electricity production does not have to produce any of them: The short term goal is total elimination across the whole chain.

I think the parent was referring to the mining and manufacturing of lithion ion and other components that go into a car.

That's a secondary effect. Primary effect I had in mind when commenting was the movement of the emissions from the local tailpipe to the electric plant (which is very far from 100% emission-free today).

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#225

Post by jejones3141 »

acdha wrote: post #119
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, what!? In Europe if you strike a pedestrian on the crosswalk you'll definitely loose your license and be looking at manslaughter charges too while your insurance company will murder you after paying the victim's medical/disability/court bills.

I’m certain that the police officers the original commented mentioned actually said that they had no grounds even though it is completely incorrect just because the United States is so heavily built around people driving everywhere (and that public transit is for poor, distasteful people). Older people losing their cars is often the start of a decline unto death because there’s so little you can do with driving in ma…

That's one reason I hope autonomous vehicles are functional and available soon.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#226

Post by lmilcin »

VBprogrammer wrote: post #143
lmilcin wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree completely. After watching hundreds or even thousands of accidents on Youtube it could be said that there typically are two parties that could be blamed for the accident. One is officially at fault but there typically is somebody else who did not pay enough attention or did not slow down at intersection or did not do one of the many things that careful drivers would be expected to do. Drivers (or pedestrians)…

An interesting concept in this area is the naked streets concept, where by the streets are stripped of the usual trappings of lights, signs and lane markings. Since no one then feels like they are just "in the right" everyone tends to be much more attentive. https://www.pps.org/article/hans-monderman

This is, unfortunately, incorrect.

The reason the number of accidents got suddenly smaller is because people were used to markings but then they had to re-learn how to function when the markings were removed. When you learn to drive or when you are in unfamiliar place you tend to drive slower and be more attentive.

But this is only temporary effect. After some time people adjust and same problems show up.

Still not convinced? What about south asian countries which tend to have little in the way of traffic signs? If lack of markings makes people behave more carefully how do you explain relative lack of safety in countries like Vietnam, Thailand, etc?

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#227

Post by patriot1911 »

systemtest wrote: post #149
ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, what!? In Europe if you strike a pedestrian on the crosswalk you'll definitely loose your license and be looking at manslaughter charges too while your insurance company will murder you after paying the victim's medical/disability/court bills.

I have hit a pedestrian. Instead of using the nearby crosswalk she walked in between the cars and when she walked in front of me it was too late for me to brake. She flew a couple of meters and landed on the crosswalk. In the police report is was stated that I hit the person on the crosswalk as I couldn't prove otherwise. The woman was taken away in an ambulance due to a broken leg. I was 16 at the time. Really shake…

> I was 16 at the time.

I.e. you weren't driving a car and you were underage.

I'm not saying that the legal system in The Netherlands is unreasonable or anything, but I feel like your case doesn't really represent the kind of case people are thinking of in this thread.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#228

Post by nradov »

u801e wrote: post #157
acdha wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m certain that the police officers the original commented mentioned actually said that they had no grounds even though it is completely incorrect just because the United States is so heavily built around people driving everywhere (and that public transit is for poor, distasteful people). Older people losing their cars is often the start of a decline unto death because there’s so little you can do with driving in ma…

> Older people losing their cars is often the start of a decline unto death because there’s so little you can do [without] driving in many neighborhoods. The solution is to replace their car with a vehicle that's less dangerous for others like an electrically assisted tricycle. That can serve their local transportation needs and won't cause nearly as much damage if they hit someone or something.

What you're looking for is a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhood_Electric_Vehicle

Some retirement communities are specifically designed to handle those, and they work fine in many urban and suburban areas.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#229

Post by tjansen »

megablast wrote: post #22

Imagine if someone invented cars today? Hey everyone, we want to make you use this killing machine, that kills a million people every year around the world directly, many more indirectly. We just need to clear out the parks currently around your houses to turn into horrible bleak roads, so they can bring the pollution directly to your door.

It's kind of true, but how could you let people ride bikes? They don't even have airbags.

Re: Cars took over because the legal system helped squeezed out alternatives

#230

Post by patriot1911 »

pixl97 wrote: post #214
pindab0ter wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How were you driving when you were sixteen?

Because that's when you can get a license in many states.

But not in The Netherlands, which he explicitly stated he was from. The real answer is that he probably wasn't driving a car.
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