Car culture
Basics
How To Bring ‘Zero Auto Ownership’ Out of the Shadows
Cars are so ubiquitous in the United States it’s hard for some people to believe it’s possible to live without one. But in order to meet a host of urgent local, regional and national environmental and public health goals, we must drastically cut down on vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
In short: people need to drive less.
May 5, 2022
Study: Car Ownership Doesn’t Always Cut Black Workers’ Commutes
It still takes Black workers 22 minutes longer to get to work every week than their White counterparts — it's probably not possible to speed up those commutes in urban areas with automotive strategies alone.
April 20, 2022
Can We Stop Stoned Driving Without Ending Car Dependency?
Street safety advocates, government leaders and cannabis industry reps want drivers to not drive under the influence of marijuana — but all that talk will have little impact without accompanying systemic change that gives residents other options to get around when they've danced to the Doobie Brothers.
April 15, 2022
Three-Quarters of Licensed Drivers Used a Mobile Device While Driving, New Survey Finds
Thank goodness April is "Distracted Driving Month."
March 30, 2022
No Minimum Parking Requirements? No Problem for Fayetteville, Ark.
In 2015, the city council of Fayetteville, Arkansas, adopted a radical but simple idea: do away with minimum parking mandates and let businesses decide how much parking they need. How did that work out?
February 25, 2022
EXCERPT: There are No ‘Accidents’ — We Have Been Fooled into Thinking There Are
This excerpt from the new book, "There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster — Who Profits and Who Pays the Price" will make you rethink crashes, capitalism and culpability.
February 15, 2022
STUDY: What A Lifetime of Car Ownership Costs — And Who Pays
The average motorist will pay a whopping $650,000 on the low end to own a car over his or her lifetime, and society will pick up over 40 percent of the tab, a new study finds.
February 9, 2022
STUDY: 20 Is Plenty — But Signs Alone Don’t Always Get Drivers to Slow Down
Drivers did not slow really down after Portland lowered the speed limit in residential neighborhoods, but a new study suggests that the reason is more about road design than driver behavior.
February 2, 2022
The Best EV Charging Solution that No One is Talking About
(Hint: it's not curbside charging in dense cities that already have too many cars.)
January 26, 2022
Viral Video of W. Va. Reporter Struck by Pick-Up Driver on Live TV Should be a Watershed Moment
A horrifying car crash that aired during a live TV news broadcast in West Virginia is sparking a conversation about roadway and workplace safety — and the many ways that U.S. media normalizes traffic violence, even as it happens in real time.
January 20, 2022
