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Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

cnn.com

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Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#541

Post by JoeAltmaier »

foxyv wrote: post #540
ShroudedNight wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you do a lot of driving on rural 2-lane highways, I could see reasonable justification for investing significantly in being able to pass quickly, having seen more than a few situations where a prolonged pass exposed the parties to considerable risk of harm.

Passing faster is not safer, in fact the opposite is true. It FEELS safer, but the chances of being killed go up astronomically. You feel like you can make it, all the while you are accelerating to fatal speeds. If a car appears in the oncoming lane you are supposed to slow down and return to the rear of the vehicle you were passing. Your car can decelerate much faster than it can accelerate. Brakes can dissipate ove…

I'd blame it less on ignorance, than panic. Once committed to a process it takes effort to change. All while watching that tractor grows larger and larger in your line of vision.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#542

Post by foxyv »

mwint wrote: post #469
z3ugma wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> an absolutely mind-boggling amount of infrastructure investment You mean like roads?

Roads are stupid cheap compared to a certain Californian light rail project.

California spends about $200,000 per mile of highway every year. That comes to about $53.6 billion dollars a year just to maintain those highways. That doesn't even count the capital costs of new projects. That doesn't count the $55 billion dollars in medical bills for people injured in accidents. The billions of dollars that people pay for health care required to treat diseases caused by pollution. The cost in lives, time, and crippling injuries is immense.

What do we get for it? Being stuck on the 91 choking on the exhaust.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#543

Post by foxyv »

dragonwriter wrote: post #470
mwint wrote: post #469

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roads are stupid cheap compared to a certain Californian light rail project.

> Roads are stupid cheap compared to a certain Californian light rail project. What California light rail project are you thinking of?

I think they meant the overly ambitious High Speed Rail project from Los Angeles to Northern California. That is the usual talking point.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#544

Post by foxyv »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #541
foxyv wrote: post #540

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Passing faster is not safer, in fact the opposite is true. It FEELS safer, but the chances of being killed go up astronomically. You feel like you can make it, all the while you are accelerating to fatal speeds. If a car appears in the oncoming lane you are supposed to slow down and return to the rear of the vehicle you were passing. Your car can decelerate much faster than it can accelerate. Brakes can dissipate ove…

I'd blame it less on ignorance, than panic. Once committed to a process it takes effort to change. All while watching that tractor grows larger and larger in your line of vision.

There is definitely panic. Mostly because they were never taught what to do. The worst thing is, when you try to tell them they get mad or ignore you. I don't know how to describe that other than plain ignorance.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#545

Post by foxyv »

perryizgr8 wrote: post #510
kulahan wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe for you. I have no interest in paying for this subscription, but a trolley or tram or train would not solve my problem without an absolutely mind-boggling amount of infrastructure investment, and there are so many things I would rather pay for. I've never enjoyed public transit, here or in Europe. It's a pain in the ass to some degree, no matter how good it is. An individual car is the epitome of freedom, so yo…

> An individual car is the epitome of freedom Nailed it. The car is the symbol of liberty and freedom, and not without reason. People who present public transit as an alternative to cars confound me. I will choose my own car over any kind of public transit every day. I even try to avoid flights if I can drive to my destination in ~12 hours. I can take a lot of luggage, stop and relax at my leisure, have good food, no…

If you have never lived in a place with good public transit, I can understand why you feel this way. You are literally trapped without a car. Now imagine, tomorrow you are diagnosed with epilepsy, or macular degeneration. Or, your car is destroyed while it's parked on the street and you cannot afford another.

If a car is the only form of transportation, your freedom is contingent. Think of what a privilege driving is. Even better, great public transportation makes driving much more pleasurable.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#547

Post by kulahan »

z3ugma wrote: post #426
kulahan wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe for you. I have no interest in paying for this subscription, but a trolley or tram or train would not solve my problem without an absolutely mind-boggling amount of infrastructure investment, and there are so many things I would rather pay for. I've never enjoyed public transit, here or in Europe. It's a pain in the ass to some degree, no matter how good it is. An individual car is the epitome of freedom, so yo…

> an absolutely mind-boggling amount of infrastructure investment You mean like roads?

You mean those things we already have and already paid for? Yes. Like those.

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#548

Post by foxyv »

kulahan wrote: post #547
z3ugma wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> an absolutely mind-boggling amount of infrastructure investment You mean like roads?

You mean those things we already have and already paid for? Yes. Like those.

Yes, the ones that are falling apart and collapsing as we speak. The question is, would we rather continue investing in maintaining and expanding roads which have bankrupted our cities, or would we rather build something different.

https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/2/28/odot-proposes-...

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#549

Post by kulahan »

foxyv wrote: post #545
perryizgr8 wrote: post #510

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An individual car is the epitome of freedom Nailed it. The car is the symbol of liberty and freedom, and not without reason. People who present public transit as an alternative to cars confound me. I will choose my own car over any kind of public transit every day. I even try to avoid flights if I can drive to my destination in ~12 hours. I can take a lot of luggage, stop and relax at my leisure, have good food, no…

If you have never lived in a place with good public transit, I can understand why you feel this way. You are literally trapped without a car. Now imagine, tomorrow you are diagnosed with epilepsy, or macular degeneration. Or, your car is destroyed while it's parked on the street and you cannot afford another. If a car is the only form of transportation, your freedom is contingent. Think of what a privilege driving is…

One of my buddies had a dad who was a parapalegic and he was still much more mobile using his wheelchair and modified van than anyone with a bus could hope to make him.

One of these days, you should try traversing 8 blocks in a wheelchair and see how convenient a bus stop feels! lol

Re: Mercedes EVs can go faster for $60 a month

#550

Post by kulahan »

foxyv wrote: post #548
kulahan wrote: post #547

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean those things we already have and already paid for? Yes. Like those.

Yes, the ones that are falling apart and collapsing as we speak. The question is, would we rather continue investing in maintaining and expanding roads which have bankrupted our cities, or would we rather build something different. https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/2/28/odot-proposes-...

We would rather spend a small amount of money maintaining an existing system which supports all dynamic transit systems than throwing them out and using a much more static system. This seems really obvious.

Cities aren't bankrupted by roads, roads are what give cities lifelines. Trains and buses are an incredibly poor substitute in all but the densest of regions.

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