davidzipper

davidzipper, 7 months ago to climate

The US Department of Justice announced that it's suing eBay for selling 343,000+ "rolling coal" devices that enable automobiles to violate the Clean Air Act. Fines could reach $2 billion.

We love to see it.

#climatechange #cars

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/11/doj-sues-ebay-for-rolling-coal-devices-fines-could-hit-2-billion.html

davidzipper, 9 months ago to random

Something I love about Oslo: This city is incredibly quiet.

Lots of people are walking/biking/scooting. And most vehicles are electric, while speed limits are typically 30 km/hr (19 mph), so engine/tire noise is negligible.

A reminder that cities aren't loud; cars are loud.

davidzipper, 9 months ago to cars

I’ve spent much of this year examining car bloat, the process through which smaller vehicles are being replaced by increasingly massive SUVs and trucks.

What I’ve learned: Huge cars are terrible for society, often in ways that are hidden.

Some basic facts:
◆ >80% of US car sales are now trucks/SUVs.
◆ Models keep expanding. For example, the F-150 is now ~800 lbs heavier and 7 inches taller than in 1991.
◆ EVs can make the problem worse due to huge batteries.

Continued (THREAD)

#cars #climate

davidzipper, 3 months ago to cars

In Slate, I wrote about yet another problem due to car bloat:

Researchers found that SUVs and pickups have grown so huge that they can destroy highway guardrails.

Taxpayers are on the hook for fixes that could cost billions.

Add it to the list of societal challenges worsened by oversized cars (pedestrian deaths, climate change, unaffordable mobility, highway erosion...).

https://slate.com/business/2024/02/car-safety-guardrails-bloat-electric-vehicles.html

#cars #highways #suvs

davidzipper, 9 months ago to Norway

Norway has one of the lowest crash death rates in the world, with fatalities dropping ~50% in the last decade. I asked a senior Norwegian transportation official what role car technology has played enhancing safety.

“None,” she replied. “We focus on road design and enforcement."

#norway #safety #transportation #autonomousvehicles #selfdriving #cars

davidzipper, 3 months ago to cars

Wow. Paris just voted to triple the parking costs for SUVs.

A huge victory in the fight against car bloat.

https://www.bfmtv.com/paris/direct-votation-sur-le-stationnement-des-suv-a-paris-les-bureaux-de-vote-ont-ouvert_LN-202402040118.html

#paris #cars #safety #climate

davidzipper, 2 months ago to random

"No one I spoke to for this piece could name a recent sizable pedestrianization or traffic-reduction scheme that had been reversed once it had been given time to have an effect."

https://www.wired.com/story/car-free-cities-opposition/

davidzipper, 5 months ago to cars

“We need bolder regulation to redirect the automobile industry towards smaller instead of bigger.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/16/paris-us-size-cars-europe-emissions-suvs-france

#paris #cars

davidzipper, 12 days ago to Montreal

Here’s an idea for better cities: Make owners of big SUVs & pickups pay more to park.

That's what Montreal now does -- and it's the first North American city to try it.

In Bloomberg CityLab, I explored a groundbreaking way to fight back against car bloat.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-05-15/in-montreal-suv-drivers-must-pay-hefty-new-fees-to-park?srnd=citylab-transportation

#montreal #cars #cities

davidzipper, 6 months ago to cars

New IIHS study finds that trucks & SUVs with hoods > 40 inches tall are 45% more likely to kill pedestrians than cars with low hoods.

Vertical/blunt hoods make vehicles even more deadly.

Reminder: NHTSA and USDOT continue to ignore these risks.

https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/vehicles-with-higher-more-vertical-front-ends-pose-greater-risk-to-pedestrians

#cars #safety #regulation

davidzipper, 8 months ago to Norway

Visiting the Norwegian city of Bergen, I cycled along a stunning 3-km bike path blasted through a mountain.

It's the longest bike tunnel in the world -- and a centerpiece of Bergen's plans to reduce driving.

I wrote about it in Bloomberg CityLab.

#norway #bergen #bike #cycling

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-21/how-norway-built-the-world-s-coolest-bike-tunnel

davidzipper, 7 months ago to tesla

In the Washington Post, my take on Tesla Autopilot:

“Even if [Tesla owners] accept [Autopilot's risks], what about everyone on a public road or street who is not in a Tesla? None of us signed on to be a guinea pig.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/28/tesla-trial-autopilot-crash/

#tesla #safety #streets

davidzipper, 1 month ago to random

Been a while since I've seen a book cover go this hard

davidzipper, 7 months ago to cars

Colorado is considering a weight-base car fee to address car bloat:

🔹 Fee would would apply to cars >3,500 lbs, up to $29.90/yr (should be higher, but it's a start)

🔹 $$ collected would fund bike lanes, road diets, automatic cameras, etc

🔹 Only collected in the 12 most populous counties

#cars #safety @colorado #suvs

https://www.cpr.org/2023/09/29/colorado-pedestrian-safety-suv-truck-owners/

davidzipper, 9 months ago to ebikes

In the last 6 days the NY Times has run 4 articles about e-bikes -- all of them negative.

A few other stories the paper might consider:
🔹 E-bikes pollute far less than even electric cars
🔹 Compared to autos, e-bikes pose minimal risk to other people
🔹 Unlike cars, e-bikes provide exercise

#ebikes #bikes #journalism

image/png
image/png
image/png

davidzipper, 29 days ago to cars

In Vox, I explained how federal policy encourages car bloat, making American vehicles more enormous, polluting, and dangerous than they'd otherwise be.

That's the exact opposite of what we should be doing.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24139147/suvs-trucks-popularity-federal-policy-pollution

#cars #safety #policy

davidzipper, 14 days ago to cars

In Fast Company, I wrote about how wild it is that Ford, GM, and Stellantis no longer offer any sedan models in the US.

That's bad for Americans -- and it's risky for the Big Three.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91123174/detroit-killed-the-sedan-we-may-all-live-to-regret-it

#cars #SUVs #transportation

davidzipper, 7 months ago to nyc

During the 2022 holiday season, NYC made 11 blocks around 5th Avenue car-free.

Result:
🔹 6.6% growth in retail sales (compared to similar blocks w/car traffic)
🔹 $3M added spending

Lesson: Car-free streets can be very, very good for business.

https://patch.com/new-york/midtown-nyc/midtown-holiday-open-street-gave-3-mil-boost-local-biz-mayor

#urbanism #nyc #newyork

davidzipper, 6 months ago (edited 6 months ago) to Norway

In Vox, I explained why Norway’s “EV miracle” is a cautionary tale.

Eye-popping incentives have spurred electric car sales -- but they've also widened inequality and undermined transit/biking.

Excessive EV promotions create their own problems.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23939076/norway-electric-vehicle-cars-evs-tesla-oslo

#norway #evs #climatechange #electrification

davidzipper, 5 months ago to cars

My new article is a deep dive in Slate offering everything you wanted to know about car bloat, from its history to its business rationale to policy fixes.

Make no mistake: The increasing size of SUVs and trucks deepens myriad societal problems from road safety to inequality to climate change. And the problem is only getting worse.

https://slate.com/business/2023/12/cars-trucks-suv-sales-electric-safety-risk.html

#cars #safety #climatecrisis

davidzipper, 19 days ago to random

As I told Canada's CBC News:

"'We are so used to subsidizing cars, treating streets as car parking, we don't even recognize what we've lost in doing so.' [Zipper] suggested using spaces once occupied by cars for bike lanes, gardens or cafés."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/car-free-streets-montreal-vancouver-toronto-seasonal-permanent-1.7193687

davidzipper, 1 year ago to random

Good news: Automakers are finally realizing that car touchscreens are a disaster.

Drivers hate them, and they're also dangerously distracting. Buttons and knobs are poised for a comeback.

My new article in Slate:
https://slate.com/business/2023/04/cars-buttons-touchscreens-vw-porsche-nissan-hyundai.html

#cars #safety #technology

davidzipper, 8 months ago to random

"We need a weight tax on vehicles, including one on electric vehicles, to encourage cars of all types to become lighter and less damaging to the environment, roads and pedestrians."

Agreed!

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-rolling-suv-fatsos-including-their-plumper-electric-versions-need-to/

davidzipper, 6 months ago to fishing

My new article in Slate:

For the first time, the EPA is investigating the environmental harm caused by tires.

The federal government is finally acknowledging that tailpipe emissions are just one of the ways that cars befoul the planet.

#fishing #tires #pollution #cars #regulation

https://slate.com/technology/2023/11/car-tires-6ppd-pollution-epa.html

davidzipper, 4 months ago to delhi

My favorite mobility policy of 2023: Banning right-on-red

Inherently dangerous to pedestrians, ROR was widely adopted in order to conserve gas during the 1970s oil crisis (which, you might notice, ended decades ago).

Ann Arbor ditched ROR this year, and DC is about to. Denver, Chicago, and San Francisco may as well.

https://www.fastcompany.com/90908929/its-time-for-a-nationwide-ban-of-right-on-red

#safety #traffic #cities