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No_Career_2227 t1_ixy0jlg wrote

Foreigner from a small town here who drives here. I don't know if it's an American thing, a DMV thing, or a city thing. Either way driving here takes a lot of effort.

Between the people not paying attention and the people who cut in front of me, I'm honestly terrified of driving.

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oxtailplanning t1_ixyrahl wrote

Bad drivers (driving culture in the US is really bad) and some horrible horrible street designs from the 60s the DDOT is very very very slowly getting around to fixing.

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rlpw t1_ixyvqgp wrote

I think framing the issue as “car culture” in the US is the best way to discuss the ongoing traffic violence we’ve been seeing in cities like DC. It’s almost akin to the gun culture we have - ie a mass shooting ever so often that it normal when it shouldn’t be. A car crash that kills a cyclist, pedestrian and/or driver is normal and for some reason there isn’t a way to stop it from happening cause some folks are so car dependent. A glimpse at Nextdoor or the comments on Washingtonprobs gives some insight into the mental gymnastics that never places the blame on drivers.

Another wild conjecture is the issue being bike lanes that cause traffic and car crashes - when increasing transit option removes cars from the road.

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oxtailplanning t1_ixyw1n5 wrote

Yep. And things like being in your phone, driving fast, rolling stop signs, and doing dangerous maneuvers is popularized and normalized by car commercials and everyday behavior.

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rlpw t1_ixywkka wrote

Yeah - also I was born in dc and raised in pg. and I think my experience growing up in the suburbs is similar to a lot of Americans. Specifically, getting a license and being able to drive and having access to a car even though it was a minivan or a 20 year old clunker. This also meant I envied classmates who got nicer cars and wanted that too. Literally seduced into thinking that owning a car meant being an adult and the nicer the car the more successful I must be.

And now I ride around a used single-speed I bought on Craigslist for $150.

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sagarnola89 t1_ixzz2tn wrote

100% agree. Compare this to transit safety standards. Metro has one derailment 14 months ago where no one was killed and we sidelined the majority of the fleet for 14 months. 45,000 Americans die in car crashes/yr and we build more highways.

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