this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2024
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Just get an even bigger car, it will keep you safe from those.
I mean... kind of?
10 or 20 years ago? I would never have driven an SUV and thought anyone in one is stupid.
Five or six years ago? I needed a new car and ended up getting a "crossover" (so basically a hatchback on a lift kit). Still tiny compared to a lot of the cars on the road but a lot bigger than what I ever expected to drive.
Because in a sedan (like my rental a few months back)? My head is literally at bumper level for a LOT of the vehicles on the road. And now we have shit like the cybertruck where the bumper is a jagged metal wedge. I have a lot of faith in modern safety specs but that is still terrifying. In my small suv? I am still grill height for a lot of trucks but at least I am not weaving around monster trucks in a clown car.
Don't get me wrong. I very much enjoy the increased ground clearance and ability to haul an entire car worth of camping gear comfortably. But I also know that I am "never" going to go smaller. And... that is kind of the problem. People are dragged kicking and screaming because the alternative is to feel like you are going to die the next time someone decides they are going to ignore a red light.
You seem ambivalent about the topic. I understand your arguments, but I don't agree with your solution. That doesn't need to bother you. We probably have very different requirements for transportation.
I live in an area where I don't need a car to get where I want to - bike, bus and train are sufficient. And I don't normally need to transport so much that I need a car. And if I need a car I get a rental for a short time.
Sometimes I shake my head a little in disbelief because I find the trend towards more individual transportation within large cars concerning. But then again my lifestyle isn't for everyone and who am I to judge? (But I'm entitled to my own opinion. ;)
Extremely few Americans live in a place where that is even possible. Few can afford to move to a place like that because they are so rare and desirable. Your comment is not helpful.
It wasn't meant to deliver a solution. It's an opinion (as in a piece of my point of view).
It's just not the right way to go in my opinion. (And yes I understand the reasons why people choose what they choose. )
This is also a bugbear for me. Since even in countries with genuinely amazing public transportation (such as Japan), people who live in more rural or remote areas are still up a creek. You might have a bus but you basically have one or two routes per day and if you need to "head into town" at any other time... you need a car.
But there are various youtube channels by rich white people who live in some of the more expensive cities on earth that basically say "fuck the poor" under the guise of better city design. And... don't get me wrong, living in a city with public transportation is amazing and America as a whole REALLY loves unwalkable towns. But there are always going to be situations where private transportation is needed (even if it a few cars that the entire town "shares").
You've got that backwards.
Those are great cities to live in which is why living there is expensive. Cause those cities can't accommodate that many people.
The city design isn't the problem. Scarcity of it is.