this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2024
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Fuck Cars

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A place to discuss problems of car centric infrastructure or how it hurts us all. Let's explore the bad world of Cars!

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Pros of golf carts and neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) replacing all private cars within a city:

  • Only goes as fast as a bicycle, so isn't a viable suburban commuter vehicle, meaning you'll probably only take it to the nearest transit station
  • Only goes as fast as a bicycle, so isn't likely to kill people
  • Excellent visibility, so less likely to run over children
  • Much smaller and lighter, so building parking garages for park-and-rides would be a lot cheaper and less objectionable than with our current style of cars
  • Electric
  • Smaller batteries than jumbo EVs
  • Compatible with dense, transit-oriented city development
  • Could be installed with mandatory speed limiters

Cons:

  • Less profit for GM and ExxonMobil
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[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (17 children)

Only goes as fast as a bicycle, so isn’t a viable suburban commuter vehicle, meaning you’ll probably only take it to the nearest transit station

So it's less practical than a bicycle and still encourages a sedentary lifestyle.

Only goes as fast as a bicycle, so isn’t likely to kill people

Still more likely than a bicycle, without the advantages of a bicycle

Excellent visibility, so less likely to run over children

But not perfect, which a bicycle has

Much smaller and lighter, so building parking garages for park-and-rides would be a lot cheaper and less objectionable than with our current style of cars

Bicycles are so small that you can take them into your apartment, completely nullifying the need for infrastructural storage accommodation near your home.

Electric

You will have to explain this, as it is not an inherent pro of a vehicle to have electrical propulsion.

Smaller batteries than jumbo EVs

Electric bicycle has even smaller battery, still!

Compatible with dense, transit-oriented city development

Less so than a bicycle

Could be installed with mandatory speed limiters

So could regular cars

=======================

You've built a solution that compromises on all the advantages of either and doesn't excel in any.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 9 months ago (11 children)

Some people have never had to balance two massive bags of chicken feed and a propane tank on a rusty bicycle with a bent wheel and it shows.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Some people also don't have physical disabilities or family members with them, and it really shows. Bikes are great, and we absolutely should be encouraging bike use, but the automobile is, frankly, a necessity for millions of people. We shouldn't be getting rid of wheelchairs, either. I swear, sometimes I feel like the fuck cars community is basically anprim. Yes, fuck cars, yes fuck car culture, but jimminy crickets they're not evil. Our use of us them.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Cars have a place and the name of this community is stupid, but in large cities using cars is quite problematic obviously. For disabled people there are already motorised wheelchairs, for cargo it seems like there are better choices than this still.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm disabled. A motorized wheelchair is fine for walmart or Disney World, because those places are built for them. But they are also very expensive, and can actually be more of a hindrance when facilities and infrastructure are lacking. The world is generally not accessible.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

I get that but surely this massive golf cart looking thing offers a lot less accessibility than s mororized chair still?

I am not trying to minimize the struggles of being disabled, even with sophisticated technology of course it is something that affects almost every aspect of your life in some way.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It's not excuse, but thanks for being dismissive of disabilities that might be different to your own. I'm not pawning you off as anything, and I do think we need massive reform and restructuring. But motorized wheelchairs are not a viable solution to someone who needs to get to a doctor's office 20 miles away, nor are busses a solution to someone who has severe difficulty being outside of their home for hours on end. Should most of us be driving? No. Should no one be using cars? Also no.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't respect your argument because it assumes I'm trying to get rid of cars. I'm not, I'm trying to get rid of unnecessary car ownership / usage.

Did you know that taxis exist? Did you know that in many danish municipalities, it's completely normal for the municipality to own and operate several minibusses to ferry people who otherwise can't get around? Now you do. Now you can stop pretending that disabled people are a crutch to learn your devils-advocacy, or whatever that is, on.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

I'm not pretending anything. You're entire attitude is hostile and I'm done talking to you.

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