Notices by David Zipper (davidzipper@mastodon.social), page 3

Summary: Car bloat is terrible – for road safety, for the planet, for equity, and for road maintenance.

But bigger cars are often more profitable, so automakers like making them.

The only way out: Government action. Examples:
🔹 Tax vehicles by weight.
🔹 Test vehicles for pedestrian and cyclist safety (still doesn’t happen in the US).
🔹 Require a CDL for the most gigantic vehicles.

Left alone, this problem will only worsen. Governments must step up.

https://slate.com/business/2023/01/electric-cars-hummer-ev-tax-fees-weight-joe-biden.html

Some might say: “But people want big cars!”

Not necessarily. US automakers offer no alternative, and car bloat pushes buyers to upsize – if only to avoid being at a disadvantage on the road b/c *others* have big cars.

https://slate.com/business/2022/11/suv-size-truck-bloat-pedestrian-deaths.html

I’ve spent much of this year examining car bloat, the process through which smaller vehicles are being replaced by increasingly massive SUVs and trucks.

What I’ve learned: Huge cars are terrible for society, often in ways that are hidden.

Some basic facts:
◆ >80% of US car sales are now trucks/SUVs.
◆ Models keep expanding. For example, the F-150 is now ~800 lbs heavier and 7 inches taller than in 1991.
◆ EVs can make the problem worse due to huge batteries.

Continued (THREAD)

#cars #climate

In the last 6 days the NY Times has run 4 articles about e-bikes -- all of them negative.

A few other stories the paper might consider:
🔹 E-bikes pollute far less than even electric cars
🔹 Compared to autos, e-bikes pose minimal risk to other people
🔹 Unlike cars, e-bikes provide exercise

#ebikes #bikes #journalism

Tire pollution is already killing wildlife and sickening humans.

Massive, overpowered electric SUVs/trucks will make the problem far worse.

My new story in The Atlantic:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/07/electric-vehicles-tires-wearing-out-particulates/674750/

#climate #cars #pollution

My latest in Slate:

For decades, US environmental groups have pushed to make cars less polluting, rather than reduce driving. At long last, that is starting to change.

https://slate.com/technology/2023/03/e-bikes-bill-electric-cars-environmental-groups-climate-change.html

#climate #cars #globalwarming #bikes #transit

As I told The Daily Beast, e-bike rebates are gaining popularity with public officials wary of cars:

"Attention [comes] from the states and cities where leaders are particularly concerned about climate change, and rather dubious about...autocentric urban areas.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/forget-tesla-and-electric-cars-e-bikes-are-the-future-of-transportation

This year 4,726 Denver residents received a $400 rebate off an e-bike or a $900 off an e-cargo bike (low-income residents can get more).

According to a city survey, recipients say their new e-bike/e-cargo bike is replacing 3.4 car trips per week(!).

https://t.co/jvPBvYCNxv

#bikes #ebikes

I like this trend of painting "unauthorized" crosswalks.

Cities almost always rush to erase them. That shows local agencies *can* move quickly to change streetscapes -- they just choose not to when residents request safety improvements. People should know that!

#cities #transportation #safety #safestreets

Portugal's infrastructure minister gets it:

“If we simply replace all combustion cars with electric cars, we will end up with the same kind of congestion, the same huge amount of lost time in traffic, the same unsustainable levels of road accidents, and the same struggle for public space."

“The car overwhelmed city life and it is something that must change.”

https://www.euractiv.com/section/electric-cars/news/shift-to-electric-vehicles-will-not-solve-urban-transport-woes-says-portuguese-minister/