Comments on: Turning a Blind Eye to the Risks of Auto Culture http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/07/21/turning-a-blind-eye-to-the-risks-of-auto-culture/ Covering Los Angeles's livable streets movement Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:06:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Spokker http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/07/21/turning-a-blind-eye-to-the-risks-of-auto-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-16311 Spokker Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:30:08 +0000 http://la.streetsblog.org/?p=4151#comment-16311 Give me car culture over bike culture any day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXvqwva-ChQ Give me car culture over bike culture any day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXvqwva-ChQ

]]> By: DJB http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/07/21/turning-a-blind-eye-to-the-risks-of-auto-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-14041 DJB Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:13:47 +0000 http://la.streetsblog.org/?p=4151#comment-14041 Leading causes of death in America from the CDC (2006): (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/lcod.htm) Heart disease: 631,636 Cancer: 559,888 Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 137,119 Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,583 Accidents (unintentional injuries): 121,599 "In 2006, motor-vehicle traffic-related injuries resulted in 43,664 deaths, accounting for 24.4 percent of all injury deaths" (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf, p. 25) Lots of these deaths are directly or indirectly related to cars: accidents, health issues caused partially by inadequate exercise, air pollution, etc. I wish we treated this as seriously as 9/11. Lots more lives are at stake. Leading causes of death in America from the CDC (2006):
(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/lcod.htm)

Heart disease: 631,636
Cancer: 559,888
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 137,119
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,583
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 121,599

“In 2006, motor-vehicle traffic-related injuries resulted in 43,664 deaths, accounting for 24.4 percent of all injury deaths”
(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf, p. 25)

Lots of these deaths are directly or indirectly related to cars: accidents, health issues caused partially by inadequate exercise, air pollution, etc.

I wish we treated this as seriously as 9/11. Lots more lives are at stake.

]]> By: M http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/07/21/turning-a-blind-eye-to-the-risks-of-auto-culture/comment-page-1/#comment-14011 M Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:19:18 +0000 http://la.streetsblog.org/?p=4151#comment-14011 I certainly hope this story would motivate people, but I agree in that I don't know how realistic that is. The problems with auto culture risks is that 1)so much about them seems "normal" now that people see them as part of life that can't be avoided (take car accidents & the resulting law suits, injuries and deaths for example) 2) people don't see any obvious alternatives that seem to have the same benefits as cars (including speed, privacy, comfort, flexibility & status) 3)the city planners/people approving buildings all over the place keep on ignoring this issue and allow for apartment buildings, homes & parks to be placed adjacent to freeways (why don't we only permit parking garages to be placed along the freeways and encourage everyone to get out of their car there and walk/bike/public transport themselves to the rest of the destinations?) 4)some of the dangers are not easy to connect to behaviors (i.e. respiratory problems over time). I think to a certain degree, people will put up with things being bad because they don't even realize how bad they are anymore since it gradually built up over time. I personally live in an area of LA where living next to the train station means living next to the freeway. At first when I moved in, I didn't think much of it. Over the years of non stop noise at all hours of the day, black dust all over my apartment, dodging cars trying to rush onto the freeway, my pets constantly getting cancer and now, no longer owning a car, it sometimes makes me wonder why anyone else would honestly choose to live how I am trying to live. I can manage to do most everything I need without the aid of the car, yet I am still living with some of the worst aspects of car culture. Maybe if everyone had to go through a stint of actually experiencing the very obvious dangers of car culture and how communities are being built around freeways and major streets, they would see things a little differently. I don't even live in a relatively "poor" area of LA - I live in Studio City, and I can see examples of this problem. Then again, having everyone live in such a place is completely unreasonable, which I guess leads one back to wondering how exactly you can make people care and as a result, change their behavior. I certainly hope this story would motivate people, but I agree in that I don’t know how realistic that is. The problems with auto culture risks is that 1)so much about them seems “normal” now that people see them as part of life that can’t be avoided (take car accidents & the resulting law suits, injuries and deaths for example) 2) people don’t see any obvious alternatives that seem to have the same benefits as cars (including speed, privacy, comfort, flexibility & status) 3)the city planners/people approving buildings all over the place keep on ignoring this issue and allow for apartment buildings, homes & parks to be placed adjacent to freeways (why don’t we only permit parking garages to be placed along the freeways and encourage everyone to get out of their car there and walk/bike/public transport themselves to the rest of the destinations?) 4)some of the dangers are not easy to connect to behaviors (i.e. respiratory problems over time).
I think to a certain degree, people will put up with things being bad because they don’t even realize how bad they are anymore since it gradually built up over time.

I personally live in an area of LA where living next to the train station means living next to the freeway. At first when I moved in, I didn’t think much of it. Over the years of non stop noise at all hours of the day, black dust all over my apartment, dodging cars trying to rush onto the freeway, my pets constantly getting cancer and now, no longer owning a car, it sometimes makes me wonder why anyone else would honestly choose to live how I am trying to live. I can manage to do most everything I need without the aid of the car, yet I am still living with some of the worst aspects of car culture.

Maybe if everyone had to go through a stint of actually experiencing the very obvious dangers of car culture and how communities are being built around freeways and major streets, they would see things a little differently. I don’t even live in a relatively “poor” area of LA – I live in Studio City, and I can see examples of this problem. Then again, having everyone live in such a place is completely unreasonable, which I guess leads one back to wondering how exactly you can make people care and as a result, change their behavior.

]]>