The Oil Crisis Is a Driving Crisis

…and it’s a human health crisis.

People who bought huge new SUVs and trucks when prices were down are paying the price big time (as are all drivers of personal vehicles). Drivers of these oversized machines have contributed to a huge increase in road fatalities. The consumption of gas by vehicles of all sizes has contributed to deaths due to respiratory diseases resulting from the impact on the environment.

We must figure out a way, “both immediately and over the long term, to curb the addiction to oil. In the United States, transportation accounts for over 70 percent of total oil consumption, and more than 65 percent of that is for personal vehicles, according to the Energy Information Administration. Put another way, personal vehicles alone account for almost half of the burning of petroleum in America. A whopping 80 percent of U.S. climate emissions from transportation come from driving.”

The bipartisan infrastructure bill doesn’t come close to addressing the real problem, which is too many cars, which will be exacerbated by expansion of highways, rather than fixing existing infrastructure, investing in transit, and helping cities reduce car dependency. It could have funded initiatives for cities to be bold, to help to create streets that are people-centric, to make transit free, and to give rebates to people who buy bikes, and bonuses to folks who get around without a car.

“…as the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) said in a statement last year, the “bill goes in the wrong direction, giving a whopping $200 billion in virtually unrestricted funding” to unsustainable forms of transportation.”

It’s still possible for Biden to make an impact. He can publicly call upon mayors to accelerate transit development, bike, and pedestrian programs using funding in the American Rescue Plan.

“The bipartisan infrastructure package has only made the challenge more difficult. But municipalities could still make it right.”

If Only There Were an Infrastructure Bill to Deal With This Oil Crisis

July 24, 2020July 24, 2020

UK Wants To Ban American SUVs and Trucks As Too Dangerous

Drivers in the US are attracted to huge SUVs and trucks party because fuel prices are so low, and mostly as a result of the brainwashing effect of the automotive industry advertising the feeling of personal empowerment and freedom. The industry has slowed or stopped production of less-profitable sedans and focused on bigger vehicles with higher margins, so they sell the truck drug to willing consumers. This article from 2005 from The University of Rochester describes ads for SUVs and trucks triggering an emotional response with the promise of liberation and freedom. The names of vehicles like Ford’s Discovery and Freelander, Subaru’s Forester and Outback, Ford’s Excursion, Expedition and Escape evoke the All-American love of wilderness and exploration. The names of these giant vehicles conjure up the great American outdoors, while disregarding the negative environmental impact, as described in 2006 in this article from The University of Colorado Center Science and Policy.

The SUV Durango Hellcat is marketed in this ad, driving on a completely empty road in the middle of nowhere, as a “family” SUV (a family vehicle named Hellcat??), with top speed of 180 mph and 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. The reality is that these are death vehicles operating in our cities and suburbs.

Tall front grills will more likely kill a pedestrian by striking at chest level, or crushing an unseen child, than a sedan, which would strike at leg level.

“Landmark studies from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, and others have correlated a 50-percent increase in U.S. pedestrian fatalities over eight years to the rising popularity of pick-ups, vans, and sport utility vehicles.”

As a result of these statistics, citing “U.S. vehicle safety standards are much lower than those permitted for vehicles sold in the U.K.”, experts in the United Kingdom are urging their government to ban import of American-made SUVs.

The UK is considering banning American SUVs and Trucks deeming them too dangerous,. Will the US follow suit and eliminate them from American streets? Doubt it.

American SUVs are Too Dangerous for UK Roads, UK Safety Experts Say

By Kea Wilson Jul 22, 2020

New cars in the United Kingdom are required to meet advanced vehicle safety standards that mandate pedestrian detection technology, and, eventually, speed limiters. Meanwhile, U.S. vehicle safety standards only require car manufacturers to meet minimum crash safety standards for people inside vehicles in the event of a collision — and say nothing about vulnerable road users who might be on the other end of a crash.

December 15, 2019December 16, 2019

Do you NEED an SUV?

Ads for SUVs are so attractive. Families loading camping gear, young couples off-roading in the snow, kids piling out to soccer practice … and in all of the ads there’s NO traffic anywhere. The automotive industry is banking on sales of big vehicles for the bigger profit margin. GAs is relatively cheap, Americans are eagerly buying into the hype, and killing more people walking, on scooters, and on bikes in greater numbers every day. Young suburban moms are driving these huge vehicles with one or two kids (or alone) so we don’t want to blame men entirely, but hey guys. Honestly do you need a truck to make a statement?

DOT: Men in Big SUVs Are a Menace to Society

By Gersh Kuntzman Dec 13, 2019

“We have met the enemy and it is men.”

“The popularity of SUVs and light trucks are contributing to the increase in roadway fatalities in New York City and nationally,” DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “If you’re behind the wheel of one of those vehicles … you need to take extra caution. it has a lot more weight…poor visibility, it takes you longer to brake and it is harder to see around turns. Drivers of those vehicles need drive very carefully to compensate.”

Are you influenced by the ad campaigns for an SUV? Red about it:

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/12/13/dot-men-in-big-suvs-are-a-menace-to-society/

October 15, 2019October 14, 2019

One Thing We Can Do: Drive Less

Climate Action Doesn’t Have To Be Difficult.

Greta Thunberg is a climate change activist and a model for all of us, but we don’t all need to sail across the ocean in a solar powered racing yacht to make a difference.

One Thing We Can All Do Is Drive 10% Less. This “would be roughly 110 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, or the same as taking about 28 coal-fired power plants offline for a year.”

“Over one-third of all car trips are less than two miles, so walking, biking or taking public transport…” As a 1.4 mile square city, we can do this in Asbury Park!

By Tik Root and John Schwartz Aug. 28, 2019

“We’re not talking about getting rid of your car, just using it a little bit less. It turns out that even driving just 10 percent less — if everyone did it — would have a big impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

That’s because Americans drive trillions of miles every year, helping to make transportation the biggest contributor to United States greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2017, light-duty vehicles in the United States (including cars, S.U.V.s, pickups and most of the vehicles used for everyday life) produced 1,098 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. That’s about one-fifth of the country’s total emissions footprint.”

SUVs Are Killing Us

The auto industry is scared. Manufacturers are ceasing production of small and mid-sized cars because people aren’t buying them. The reasons are varied, but many consumers cite climate and environmental concerns, traffic congestion, and parking, plus more options in mass transit and other modes of mobility. This is true in the US, as well as Germany, and the UK. The truth is the big push in selling big vehicles is all about money. The industry feels the pinch of lower “product profitability” from cars, and the margins are much higher for SUVs, crossovers and trucks. So the spin in advertising is that larger vehicles are preferable for safety reasons (oh yeah, and they’re so tough, and cool, and rugged – you get the picture)… but it’s a LIE.

Drivers in families with children have been brainwashed into the belief that they’re safer if they’re in a bigger vehicle, but “studies show they lull drivers into a false sense of security, encouraging them to take greater risks. Their height makes them twice as likely to roll in crashes and twice as likely to kill pedestrians…”

The question as to whether to ban large vehicles from cities is being batted about on social media – the debate is centered on tradespeople who “need” them. That’s another story.

‘A deadly problem’: should we ban SUVs from our cities?

Laura Laker Mon 7 Oct 2019

“SUVs are a paradox: while many people buy them to feel safer, they are statistically less safe than regular cars, both for those inside and those outside the vehicle. A person is 11% more likely to die in a crash inside an SUV than a regular saloon. Studies show they lull drivers into a false sense of security, encouraging them to take greater risks. Their height makes them twice as likely to roll in crashes and twice as likely to kill pedestrians by inflicting greater upper body and head injuries, as opposed to lower limb injuries people have a greater chance of surviving. Originally modelled from trucks, they are often exempt from the kinds of safety standards applied to passenger vehicles, including bonnet height. In Europe legislation is being brought in to end such “outdated and unjustified” exemptions.

In New York City, two children were killed by SUV drivers mounting the sidewalk in the first two weeks of September. “Are we safe anywhere?” asked sustainable transport news site Streetsblog.”

Learn more…

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/oct/07/a-deadly-problem-should-we-ban-suvs-from-our-cities

September 13, 2019September 12, 2019

Women Are Not Considered In Transport Design

Women drive cars and use mass transit. Caregivers are mostly women. Women walk and ride bikes, with and without kids. Yet in all scenarios the industry favors and designs without women in mind. Crash test dummies are male. The automotive industry is designing and selling trucks and huge SUVs rather than cars, which appeal to mostly to men. Vehicles are designed for adults only, without childseats (although the tech exists to integrate childseats into design), so they must be purchased and installed, then lugged around between vehicles, and when traveling on planes. Buses don’t accommodate strollers. Cities lack protected bike infrastructure. We live in a car culture, but cities like Asbury Park are addressing this issue. With incremental changes many US cities, and our city are becoming more female, and family friendly – designing a city for women, and everyone, ages “8 to 80”.

How Our Transport System is Biased Against Women

By Angie Schmitt Aug 29, 2019

Hyper-macho dangerous trucks

Young men cause a hugely disproportionate share of traffic fatalities; the combination of testosterone, youth and big motors can be deadly. Young men are involved in fatal crashes at 2.2 times the rate of young women — even though both are at elevated risk compared to older drivers. Young men do pay much higher insurance premiums to reflect this. On the other hand, in our culture, we’ve done little to rein in some of the more dangerous aspects of macho road culture. Instead, it is mostly celebrated in the media in games, songs and, of course, movie franchises like Fast and Furious.

Lifted pickup trucks with bull bars are a good example. These dangerous modifications in many states go completely unregulated. Meanwhile, Europe has banned bull bars, citing compelling evidence they kill people, especially children. The notion that other people’s safety can be subordinated to the mostly male obsession with big cars reflects, in part, the privileged position men hold socially and politically.