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24-year-old attempting to rollerblade across the entire US killed in hit-and-run (www.kctv5.com)
submitted 5 days ago by to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
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SALINE COUNTY, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) — A Norwegian man attempting to rollerblade across the U.S. was killed in a hit-and-run in Kansas, officials said.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 24-year-old Joachim Lanham.

Lanham was documenting his rollerblading journey across the U.S. on Instagram. According to a post from his family, he was hit by an SUV on day 22 of his journey from New York to Los Angeles

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[–] 38 points 5 days ago (10 children)

Remember, people who don't live here:

Our rails are almost all shut down, public transit is a joke in all but a few small areas, roads are dangerous to bike or walk on with many not even having a shoulder let alone a reasoable place for traffic that isn't motorized.

You slmost have to have a car here, by incredibly shitty design.

And then the cars, now...

Between the fact that nobody makes a decent car anymore, they all fall apart just about the time your lease is up so you can't even own one only sign eternal contracts for landfill bait, all of them spy on you, and have beacons that are tracked by countless parts of our surveillence capitalism infrastructure on top of sending their own reports on you to the automaker who then sells it to anyone ad everyone, insurance is insanely expensive, and now gas is nuts, as well... And if you have a diesel?

I don't own a car anymore, and am not in an area with passable public transit. I have one chance a week, insanely early in the morning, to catch a buss for an eight hour trip that would take one by car to get to a hub... Which doesn't even have decent local transit for the town, but does have a meeting of interstates so you can catch other busses to other cities. At leaast those city connections run at least once a day instead of a week.

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  • [–] [S] 12 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

    I have one chance a week, insanely early in the morning, to catch a buss for an eight hour trip that would take one by car to get to a hub

    I know what's that like. I was carless for two years in a suburb that had an express bus into the city that you could catch one of two times in the morning and one of two times home in the afternoon. If I had to work overtime I had to beg coworkers for rides.

    Being near the streetcar was a big part of why I moved where I did when I had the chance, but not everyone has that privilege these days. (And lucky me, my parents have been "borrowing" my car for two years.)

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  • [–] 3 points 5 days ago (5 children)

    The sweet spot for cars is early 2000s, like 2005. Still analog enough to be cheap to repair but with relatively modern luxuries. Thankfully I got rid of the truck and got a car it just sips gas. An 8 hour road trip takes like $50 in gas even at around $4 per gallon.

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  • [–] 2 points 5 days ago (4 children)

    I prefer going back to the 60s and 70s, but when you do that fule efficiency drops my a huge amount, to have something affordable to drive regularly you'll need a 4 cylinder from that time period.

    Of course I only really use a vehicle for hauling things, so it has to be a V8, but on the bright side the big trucks that could haul massive loads from back then are actually smaller than the "Never leave the pavement, and if you carry more than groceries your warranty is void" trucks they sell now.

    I was far below the average gas use when I had that big F-550 than the American average because I used it for what it was needed for, or to drive down the highway and park so I could pull out my bike and ride from there once I was past the "Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die!" stretch of road.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 days ago

    Other than crash safety back then I won't disagree with you. But I've never owned a car from that time period so I don't know what it's like. 94 is as old as it gets for me, but the highest it gets is 2009. I will absolutely agree with your stance on modern trucks not actually being used for hauling or towing and how dangerously large they are. It's more dangerous to not have a large vehicle these days. And I'm assuming that stretch of road was spine crushing with no load? Sounds like something you only do once or twice.

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  • [–] 1 point 5 days ago (2 children)

    The fuel efficiency dips but so does the internal safety. Those old cars have a nasty tendency to crush your legs in a fairly mild collision, not to mention the head trauma from every surface before side and curtain airbags.

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  • [+] -16 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    Every time I visit the US, I travel by train and bus and bicycle and walking.

    This is misinformation.

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  • [–] 10 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    This is the same kind of "I KNOW BETTER!" fuckery Europeans call American tourists out on.

    Remember that the United States is larger than the entierity of Europe if you don't count Russia, and comperable if you do.

    YMMV, and I'd wager most visitors are in ideal locations more often than not, so you see the best we have to offer... Unless it's Florida, of course.

    I also spend $100 a month for internet that often caps at 100k, that's the speed of a dial-up shotgun modem from the 90s, tell me how your gigabit fiber in your hotel is cheaper and faster because the city you are in must reflect the conditions of the entire nation.

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