Car culture
Basics
Why Traffic Studies Are ‘Junk Science’ — And Why We Rely On Them Anyway
Community leaders and the courts are putting too much faith into dubious traffic studies that always seem to predict more and more driving, a new study argues — but that could all change.
April 4, 2023
How to Reframe the Narrative About Car Dependency
On today's episode of The Brake, host Kea Wilson brings you an extended interview with Grant Ennis, author of Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment. Listen now.
March 28, 2023
Stop the Spin: How to Spot Nine Types of Auto-Industry Disinformation
Corporate disinformation has played a key role in creating America's deadly transportation culture — and it will keep happening until advocates learn to spot the most common forms of spin and organize against the policies they helped create.
March 13, 2023
French Warn Parents of an Underestimated Roadway Danger: Toxic Masculinity
A new French safety campaign is warning parents that they may play a far bigger role in preventing car crashes than they might think — and that they can save lives by teaching their children about the dangers of toxic masculinity long before they ever get behind the wheel.
February 17, 2023
Opinion: It’s Time to Embrace ‘Deinfluencing’ Car Culture — and Gen Z is Leading
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of honesty anymore [on social media], it seems like a lot of things are run through money,” one social media user said.
February 13, 2023
How Deadly Are Your Community’s Streets? New Data Tool from USDOT Shows the Hard Truth
A new federal tool helps Americans see at a glance exactly how deadly traffic violence is in their community — and how their neighbors stack up.
February 8, 2023
The Dangers of Driving Are Way More Normalized Than We Think
People are measurably more likely to accept the societal harms and inequities associated with driving than other public health threats.
January 19, 2023
What the Gas Stove Meltdown Has In Common With the Car Culture Wars
We need to fix both systems, which were created by Big Gas and Big Auto so long ago that they feel like personal choices. A great essay by Kea Wilson.
January 13, 2023
Four Ways To Build A Better Automated Enforcement Program
Simple messaging changes can help transportation leaders win over residents who are skeptical of automated enforcement, a new study finds — and there's even more they can do to make those programs equitable, effective, and deserving of public support.
December 14, 2022
The (Too-Brief) History of Traffic Violence Memorials in America
Mass memorials to the victims of traffic violence are a rarity on American roads. But it wasn't always that way — and there's a fascinating history behind why so many lost lives have become virtually invisible in the public realm today.
December 13, 2022
