Very true, tjarlz. And those on bicycles and other very small and lightweight vehicles are especially vulnerable in traffic.
There is a whole class of transportation called 'intra-urban personal transport,' (IUPT) which is distinguished from, e.g., public buses and trains (using the ambiguous sense of 'public' here).
IUPT vehicles can be classified into two major classes:
a. Heavy, Fast, Large
b. Light, Slow(er), Small
There's a huge real and perceived difference in safety between these two classes of vehicle in conditions where they are of mixed kinds on roads and streets. I mention 'perceived' because when perceived safety is very low folks will be much more likely not to use class b vehicles. I might as well mention here that I think the average perceived safety level generally is in accord with the actual level of safety.
Vehicle selection for short intra-urban trips is enormously influenced by perceived safety. And I would argue that the key to increasing real and perceived safety for class b vehicle use would be to slow all intra-urban traffic to somewhere in the range of 15-20 mph. (24 - 32 kph).
In short, class a and b vehicles are not safety compatible on urban roads and streets at speeds faster than a bicycle would be typically going in those streets. So in my view, all urban transportation should be slowed to the speed of a bicycle. I hypothesize that this would result in ...
- a sudden and dramatic increase in the use of class b vehicles
- a sudden and dramatic increase in R&D and manufacturing of innovative design of class b vehicles, with a whole class of these being those which are enclosed (rather than exposed) against unsuitable weather.
There is no reason why class a vehicles should literally dominate our streets, and in this time of climate emergency their domination is a clear case of oppression. What makes them oppressive, mainly, is their speed -- combined with their size and weight.
".... 30 percent of trips are a mile or shorter, 40 percent are two miles or shorter and 50 percent are three miles or shorter." (USA data)
I haven't poured over the data on this a lot, and am curious about the percent of intra-urban trips which are 4, 5 and six miles -- all of which are less likely to be walked, but remain well within practicability for very lightweight intraurban personal transport.
Using a typical car or truck for most types of short trips in towns and cities is like using heavy hiking boots for walking on the beach. It's like using a chainsaw to cut a birthday cake. It just makes no sense whatsoever. And it is an aggressive act of domination and oppression. It is a threat of violence.
I don't own a car myself, although the closest I have to a car coop is to simply use Uber when I need to drive. I'm fortunate that my engineering work allows me to be entirely remote. But it does have the distinct negative side effect of making it easy to stay indoors for days at a time. I have to make an effort to get out and meet people in the community, and there are a lot of places I would visit more often but they are just out of range of bicycle.
For large cities where zoning can mean certain types of places are farther from concentrated residential areas, accomplishing a phase out of cars would really mean a restructuring of city layouts. I'd love to see moving out of cities and a reemergence of many smaller towns that have most of what the population would need locally. That's tough while jobs are concentrated in cities, but I do still agree that phasing out cars and finding creative ways to live and work with less population density would bring tremendous benefits to everyone.
A comment currently atop the YouTube page where this film is presently available says "DW deleted this documentary film from their channel. Why? You tell me."
I'll tell you why. There is a propaganda war going on, and those who favor the message this film presents are losing that war.
This film is at serious risk of disappearing everywhere, and it's up to us to take a stand to keep this from happening.
The least we can do is to share this as broadly and widely as possible while it remains available to us to view! I say this with a feeling of sincere urgency.
I rounded the average car length of 14.83 feet to 15 feet for my calculation, for ease of calculation. The difference is not significant for my purposes.
It's a very impolite expression that should me get banned from this forum.
I wrote a reply and when pushing "send" they required me to sign in or register. After passing all the hurdles I went back to the comment section and my input was gone! I could start over again which I refused to do...
I hate it when that happens. Don't worry, you're not at risk of being banned. I understand your frustration. I recommend letting that pulse of frustration be deeply felt and dissipated, and then to try again to share your thoughts with us. I really want to hear what you have to say!
All the King's Horses, by Bart Hawkins Kreps
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-08-31/all-the-kings-horses/
Very true, tjarlz. And those on bicycles and other very small and lightweight vehicles are especially vulnerable in traffic.
There is a whole class of transportation called 'intra-urban personal transport,' (IUPT) which is distinguished from, e.g., public buses and trains (using the ambiguous sense of 'public' here).
IUPT vehicles can be classified into two major classes:
a. Heavy, Fast, Large
b. Light, Slow(er), Small
There's a huge real and perceived difference in safety between these two classes of vehicle in conditions where they are of mixed kinds on roads and streets. I mention 'perceived' because when perceived safety is very low folks will be much more likely not to use class b vehicles. I might as well mention here that I think the average perceived safety level generally is in accord with the actual level of safety.
Vehicle selection for short intra-urban trips is enormously influenced by perceived safety. And I would argue that the key to increasing real and perceived safety for class b vehicle use would be to slow all intra-urban traffic to somewhere in the range of 15-20 mph. (24 - 32 kph).
In short, class a and b vehicles are not safety compatible on urban roads and streets at speeds faster than a bicycle would be typically going in those streets. So in my view, all urban transportation should be slowed to the speed of a bicycle. I hypothesize that this would result in ...
- a sudden and dramatic increase in the use of class b vehicles
- a sudden and dramatic increase in R&D and manufacturing of innovative design of class b vehicles, with a whole class of these being those which are enclosed (rather than exposed) against unsuitable weather.
There is no reason why class a vehicles should literally dominate our streets, and in this time of climate emergency their domination is a clear case of oppression. What makes them oppressive, mainly, is their speed -- combined with their size and weight.
".... 30 percent of trips are a mile or shorter, 40 percent are two miles or shorter and 50 percent are three miles or shorter." (USA data)
from -
https://innagram.com/travel/how-far-does-the-average-person-travel-by-car.html
I haven't poured over the data on this a lot, and am curious about the percent of intra-urban trips which are 4, 5 and six miles -- all of which are less likely to be walked, but remain well within practicability for very lightweight intraurban personal transport.
Using a typical car or truck for most types of short trips in towns and cities is like using heavy hiking boots for walking on the beach. It's like using a chainsaw to cut a birthday cake. It just makes no sense whatsoever. And it is an aggressive act of domination and oppression. It is a threat of violence.
The Case for Micromobility :: Harvard Business School
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il9iQTrRTXo
Books:
Divorce Your Car!: Ending the Love Affair With the Automobile
Katharine T. Alvord
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1485814.Divorce_Your_Car_
How to Live Well Without Owning a Car: Save Money, Breathe Easier, and Get More Mileage Out of Life
Chris Balish
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/661470.How_to_Live_Well_Without_Owning_a_Car
I don't own a car myself, although the closest I have to a car coop is to simply use Uber when I need to drive. I'm fortunate that my engineering work allows me to be entirely remote. But it does have the distinct negative side effect of making it easy to stay indoors for days at a time. I have to make an effort to get out and meet people in the community, and there are a lot of places I would visit more often but they are just out of range of bicycle.
For large cities where zoning can mean certain types of places are farther from concentrated residential areas, accomplishing a phase out of cars would really mean a restructuring of city layouts. I'd love to see moving out of cities and a reemergence of many smaller towns that have most of what the population would need locally. That's tough while jobs are concentrated in cities, but I do still agree that phasing out cars and finding creative ways to live and work with less population density would bring tremendous benefits to everyone.
"DW deleted this documentary film from their channel. Why? You tell me."
The price of green energy by DW Documentary - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjIdJRWJQAA
A comment currently atop the YouTube page where this film is presently available says "DW deleted this documentary film from their channel. Why? You tell me."
I'll tell you why. There is a propaganda war going on, and those who favor the message this film presents are losing that war.
This film is at serious risk of disappearing everywhere, and it's up to us to take a stand to keep this from happening.
The least we can do is to share this as broadly and widely as possible while it remains available to us to view! I say this with a feeling of sincere urgency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjIdJRWJQAA
I rounded the average car length of 14.83 feet to 15 feet for my calculation, for ease of calculation. The difference is not significant for my purposes.
hond zn kloten
Google translator says this means (in Dutch) dog zn assholes. Not sure what zn is.
It's a very impolite expression that should me get banned from this forum.
I wrote a reply and when pushing "send" they required me to sign in or register. After passing all the hurdles I went back to the comment section and my input was gone! I could start over again which I refused to do...
Willy -
I hate it when that happens. Don't worry, you're not at risk of being banned. I understand your frustration. I recommend letting that pulse of frustration be deeply felt and dissipated, and then to try again to share your thoughts with us. I really want to hear what you have to say!
https://twitter.com/the__r__word/status/1568268363897651201?t=djGIAHSuNKD82Ggvq0UEzg&s=19
If you enjoyed this article, and want to share it with a wider audience, you can retweet the above.