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I am so fucking tired of people downplaying the risk of cars and the social pressures to use them.

When I tell people how much I hate driving and that getting a job that requires a daily car commute is a hard no for me I get told I’d get used to it, or that I’m being over dramatic.

YOU ARE PILOTING A MASSIVE HUNK OF STEEL FAST ENOUGH TO KILL YOU AND ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU IN AN INSTANT AND THE ONLY THING PREVENTING IT IS YOUR UNBROKEN ATTENTION TO A BORING TASK FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.

Today I narrowly avoided hitting a cyclist on the Landstraße going just under 100km/h (60mph), if I had not payed attention for that one second I would have most certainly killed them, an innocent person just going on with their day.

I wasn’t tired, was completely sober, and wasn’t even speeding, in the middle of a sunny day. Of course I could blame it on me not being used to the car, the sun blinding me, or not expecting cyclists on the road as there was a separated bike path, but all that would just be an excuse.
Maybe I looked down on the speedometer a bit too long, maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention I honestly can’t tell you, I suddenly noticed them way too close in front of me. I definitely would not have been able to stop in time and I had to quickly swirf around them. It definitely was 100% my fault, I was the one who decided to operate the vehicle and was in charge of doing so safely, and I was the one creating this dangerous situation. I am giving no blame to the people who asked me if I could drive them somewhere, and definitely no blame to the cyclist, but I also can’t pinpoint something I did wrong and I don’t really have any takeaways besides a vague “pay more attention”.

I hate how normal and socially expected it is to take such risks and how many people flat out refuse to even acknowledge them.

Please take driving seriously, mitigate the risk if you have to, avoid it when possible and work towards a world where it is less required

#fuckCars