Gonna fight the NYT podcast/a specific article. So are half the people in the comments.
The article is about increasing pedestrian deaths in the US, specifically at night.
They blame smart phones (and automatic transmission), increased vehicle size, and car-centric infrastructure being hostile to pedestrians.
I and everyone in the comments: IT'S THE FUCKING HEADLIGHTS
Had to leave my comment on YouTube because Spotify has a very low maximum character count.
I think the section on the change in cars is severely lacking in commentary on the factor that is changes in headlights. The lights are on average MUCH brighter than they were years ago, and paired with the increasing size of newer cars, they are often at the exact height to hit the eyeline for a driver in a sedan or other low cars. I and many drivers my age find that we DO NOT feel safe driving at night because we find ourselves blinded by oncoming traffic or cars in our rear view mirrors. This is not just a matter of the drivers, but the manufacturers; you can't really buy a car with weaker lights the way you can buy one with heated seats.
I'd have also liked to hear you touch on the factor of increasing fatigue in drivers coming home when you talked about the afterwork cell usage, since drowsy driving is known to be incredibly dangerous, and increasing wealth inequality means a lot of people in those low-income areas you mentioned are working multiple jobs and thus more fatigued when driving.
I do appreciate the explanation that the United States car-centric infrastructure is hostile to pedestrians, but I think it could have benefited from greater focus.
If you ever do a follow-up, I would suggest reaching out to urbanism activists like Not Just Bikes.
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Height of Folly
According to Consumer Reports, 526 people died in "frontover" accidents in 2020, many of them children. Often these deadly events occur in driveways or parking lots. You can watch an NBC News report on the issue here (below the petition) that shows kids lined up in front of various trucks and SUVs. Or if that link expires, you can watch it here.
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i feel like a horse girl but for vehicles. the big 18 wheeler growls and revs its engine menacingly at others but i gently extend my hand to its grill and approach with kindness and understanding
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