Skip to content

Friday Video: What Your Refrigerator Can Teach You About Saving Lives on the Roads

Refrigerator door alarms stop us from accidentally spoiling our groceries. Why should't infrastructure stop us from killing each other?

What does a protected bike lane have in common with a hot glue gun, a lawn mower and a refrigerator?

That’s not the set-up to a bad joke — it’s a powerful lesson in safe systems.

For this week’s Friday Video, we check in on one of our favorite TikTokers Jon Jon Wesolowski — aka “The Happy Urbanist” — who just posted an explainer on “forcing functions,” or design features that force better behavior and prevent bad things from happening.

And whether that’s an automatic kill switch on a household appliance or a barrier that separates a driver from cyclist, these features should be a no-brainer — if we can stop playing the blame game and start getting to the root causes of why people get hurt.

Check it out:

Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.

More from Streetsblog USA

OPINION: U.S. Should Scale Autonomous Vehicles Thoughtfully, Not Slam the Brakes

July 31, 2026

Friday’s Headlines Stay in Their Lane

July 31, 2026

‘Flock Off’: Mass Surveillance Surge Jeopardizes Lifesaving Crash Reduction Strategy

July 30, 2026

Thursday’s Headlines Are Third Spaces

July 30, 2026

Wednesday’s Headlines Cut to the Bone

July 29, 2026
See all posts