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shiraCH.bsky.social

@shirares.bsky.social
917 followers 321 following 41 posts

(re)Posts mainly on climate solutions, but gradually turning into a compendium on all the ways SUVs are awful.

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Reposted by shiraCH.bsky.social
Streetsblog USA @usa.streetsblog.org · 01/10/2026
We Don’t Need to Ban Pick Up Trucks to Take Action on Vehicle Safety
buff.ly
We Don't Need to Ban Pick Up Trucks to Take Action on Vehicle Safety — Streetsblog USA
There’s so much middle ground and low hanging fruit as far as reducing deaths and injuries caused by super large consumer vehicles. Here are three modest safety half-measures that should be a…
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This iconic Fabian Todorovic cartoon is still one of the best I’ve seen at illustrating the remarkable amount of space we surrender to cars, leaving little space left for everyone and everything else. The text added later makes the bonus point that many drivers still manage to complain about it.
Cartoon image of a street with much of the space taken up by a car with a single driver, while the rest of the street has people tightly packed in a bus, a bus shelter and riding bikes in a bike lane. Adding insult to injury, the driver says “damn those bike paths and bike lanes taking all the space.”
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Again from Russell King's excellent Transport Leader's newsletter. Research here.
Image of how the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the risk (child standing in front of ever bigger SUVs). Every 10cm taller, 11% deadlier: new proof on vehicle size and pedestrian risk
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
“The increased height of these bonnets means a child is three times more likely to be killed if hit by an SUV rather than by a conventional vehicle – and, as transport writer Christian Wolmar observes, more likely to be hit at all, since the driving position is often too high to see a child ahead.”
theguardian.com
It’s the SUV tyranny: where have all the normal family cars gone? | Coco Khan
They rule the roads and, in their wake, even old-style saloons have been supersized. It’s an illusion of consumer choice, says writer and podcaster Coco Khan
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Es sagt viel über eine Gesellschaft, wenn Schulkinder nur "toleriert" werden.
TCS Spannbanner neben der Strasse:  "Schulanfang: Achtung Kinder! Geduld + Toleranz"
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Reposted by shiraCH.bsky.social
Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Language matters. #UrbanTruth #StreetsForPeople
“The Spelled Open Wrong.” Text on top of image of vibrant pedestrian street with a sign that says “Road Closed.”

Via the Urban Truth Collective
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Shivaji Shiva @shivajishivalaw.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Interesting ...
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Again from Russell King’s Transport Leader newsletter, with ITDP and UCD’s data: not driving an SUV is a win-win-win: you save money, the public is safer, and it is the easiest climate measure you can take.
Graphic showing all the benefits of not driving an SUV: “Car Bloat: the case for smaller vehicles “
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
24km/h v 48km/h
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
From the excellent Transport Leader newsletter by Russell King about London's 2026 Vision Zero Report: "SUVs are 14% more likely to kill people walking and cycling than other passenger cars, 77% more likely to kill children up to 18, and 209% more likely to kill children under nine."
SUVs are 209% more likely to kill a child under 9, from London Vision Zero Report 2026, via Russell King's Transport Leader newsletter
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Switzerland got even worse.
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
"Dass die immer grösseren Dimensionen bei den Autos Folgen haben, steht schon heute fest. Insbesondere Unfälle mit Kindern und Fussgängern enden häufiger tödlich." www.tagesanzeiger.ch/so-riesig-wi...
Immer breitere Autos bedrängen die Velofahrer auf den Strassen. Schlicht unmöglich ist das Velofahren neben einem Cybertruck – wenn daneben an der Strasse weitere Cybertrucks parkiert sind. Das 2,2 Meter breite Fahrzeug passt nicht mehr auf ein Längsparkfeld. Fürs Velofahren bleiben so gerade mal 30 Zentimeter.
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
“Letztes Jahr starben 250 Menschen auf Schweizer Strassen, das sind 34 Prozent mehr als 2019.” Je grösser das Auto/SUV, desto weniger sicher sind unsere Strassen. www.tagesanzeiger.ch/cybertruck-s...
tagesanzeiger.ch
Kommt Musks Cybertruck in die Schweiz? BFU und Lärmliga schlagen Alarm
Bald sollen amerikanische Pickups wie der Cybertruck von Tesla auf Schweizer Strassen fahren dürfen – auch wenn sie Sicherheits- und Lärmvorschriften nicht erfüllen. Experten warnen vor mehr Verkehrstoten.
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Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
If you want more democracy, you need fewer cars.
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AlgorithmWatch CH @algorithmwatchch.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
💥 BOOM DE L'IA – Un sondage montre que la population suisse s'inquiète de la consommation de ressources des centres de données! Le progrès et la protection du climat ne doivent pas se faire obstacle, mais aller de pair. Résultats et conclusions ⤵️ algorithmwatch.ch/fr/consommat...
algorithmwatch.ch
Boom de l’IA: la population suisse préoccupée par la consommation d’électricité et d’eau des centres de données - AlgorithmWatch CH
L’emballement pour l’intelligence artificielle fait grimper la consommation d’électricité et d’eau des centres de données. La population suisse s’en inquiète de plus en plus. C’est ce que révèle un so...
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Beyond Fossil Fuels @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
🚨New polling across 🇮🇪, 🇬🇧, 🇪🇸, 🇨🇭, 🇩🇪 finds: 👉 76% of people believe new data centres should be powered with renewable energy. 👉73% want governments to set clear criteria for energy distribution. Renewables, transparency, & fairness are key for data centres. More: beyondfossilfuels.org/2025/10/27/e...
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Amazingly, the author's solution is to have more cameras, rather than suggesting something as crazy as buying smaller cars! Even as they acknowledge that SUVs are a (literally) huge part of why drivers are running over children.
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Ana C. Afonso Silva @acafonsosilva.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
weplanet.yourmovement.org/p/noconfusio...
weplanet.yourmovement.org
Stop the EU’s Ban on “Meaty” Words for Plant-Based Foods
Sign now
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
EVs will not solve our mobility problems. And again, SUVs are awful - reason gajillion here:
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Taxing SUVs in line with European countries could raise £2bn a year for the Treasury, says thinktank Transport & Environment, which wants the chancellor to impose a levy on the largest “Chelsea tractors” to reflect the damage they cause to the environment and infrastructure.
theguardian.com
UK could raise nearly £2bn by taxing SUVs in line with European countries, study shows
Thinktank says an ‘SUV loophole’ means UK buyers pay up to 20 times less tax on biggest models than in neighbouring nations
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
There are many versions of this kind of image out there. The best ones illustrate why “better cars” will never be more than part of the answer, and actually help “lock in” the #CarDependency that’s the real problem. They also show why status-quo interests usually want to focus on the vehicles.
Cartoons illustrating how both fossil fuel vehicles and electric vehicles are struck in the same massive car-dependent elevated freeway infrastructure that has replaced much of the walkable, mixed-use neighbourhood-building in at least North America.
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Innovation makes useful things smaller and smaller. Overconsumption makes things bigger and bigger (and more dangerous with bigger costs & consequences). Bigger vehicles and larger homes for fewer people is not progress. HT @fietsprofessor for graphic
Images showing computers shrinking greatly over 25 years, phones shrinking greatly over 40 years, and cars getting much bigger over the last 40 years.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Trump is trying to force the EU to legalize US car bloat, and European safety leaders are furious: "Europe now risks being flooded with oversized, under-regulated U.S. pick-up trucks and SUVs – vehicles that are...completely out of step with Europe’s vision for safer, more sustainable mobility."
etsc.eu
ETSC: Mutual Recognition Deal with U.S. Will Cost Lives on Europe’s Roads
By signing up to mutual recognition of vehicle standards with the United States, the European Union has waved the white flag on road safety. This is not a technical detail – it is a political choice…
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
The 1st author explains how SUVs are deadly to those not in them. The 2nd thinks those outside of SUVs think the SUV drivers are smug bc they've got more space. No! We're terrified they will kill us. PS - EV SUVs are just as dangerous to those people outside of them as SUVs burning fossil fuels.
irishtimes.com
Opinion: Supersized SUVs are more dangerous to pedestrians. Is it time for an extra levy on new ones?
The Debate: Is a proposed weight tax on heavier cars per kilogramme really about safety – or more about punishing the smug?
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Erst ganz am Ende des Artikels, wird das eigentlich Wichtigste behandelt: "Die Folgen dieser immer grösseren Dimensionen: Unfälle mit Kindern und Fussgängern enden häufiger tödlich." www.tagesanzeiger.ch/autos-im-zei...
tagesanzeiger.ch
VW, Fiat, Skoda: So viel grösser sind die Lieblingsautos der Schweizer heute
Die Personenwagen in der Schweiz werden länger, breiter und schwerer. Wir zeigen das Wachstum bei sieben beliebten Modellen.
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Dr. Tarek Loubani, who is in Gaza right now, was invited to give a talk to emergency workers about the attacks on health care facilities in Gaza. But he was instructed - get this - not to say who was doing the attacking. Take a look at how this hero of a human responded: vimeo.com/1112115018/c...
vimeo.com
Stethoscope Story #8
This is "Stethoscope Story #8" by Albino Squirrel Channel on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.
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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Why do we need a lot more protected bike-lanes in cities? Because biking in protected #bikelanes poses just 1/10th the risk of biking on major streets with parking. Via @momentummag.bsky.social. Plus they mean a LOT more people choosing biking, which has all sorts of health and cost saving benefits.
Graphic filled with stats on the efficiency of urban biking and how safe it is.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Also, I kindly ask that any journalist writing about the US road safety crisis separate deaths among car occupants (which are relatively flat ) from those of people biking and walking (which have skyrocketed). The two trendlines are completely different. They should be treated as such.
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Free trade agreements have never really been about trade - they have always been about weakening regulations meant to protect us. What corporate lobbies can't do via democratic processes, they push through in free trade agreements.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I'm not exaggerating. The US forced Japan to accept more pedestrian danger. Japanese official: “Unlike U.N. standards, which are used by Japan and European countries, pedestrian safety is not a factor in U.S. vehicle standards."
asianews.network
Concerns raised over Japan’s potential concessions on auto safety standards; experts point out risk of increased fatalities
Many of Japan’s automobile safety standards were formulated based on lessons learned from past accidents and have been incorporated into global standards set by the United Nations.
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Dr Adam Levy @climateadam.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I only found out about this recently. Pedestrian safety is not a factor in U.S. vehicle standards. Absolutely unhinged.
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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 10/07/2025
A new study of vehicular crashes in the UK shows that—after accounting for driver characteristics, road conditions, & more—adult pedestrians & cyclists had a 14% higher fatality rate when hit by an SUV rather than a regular car. Children had a shocking 77% higher fatality rate when hit by SUVs.
findingspress.org
Do Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) Cause More Severe Injuries to Pedestrians and Cyclists than Passenger Cars, in the Case of a Crash? Findings from Great Britain, 2004-2023 | Published in Findings
By Anna Goodman, Phil Edwards & 1 more. In Great Britain, road crashes involving SUVs cause more severe injuries to pedestrians and cyclists than crashes involving passenger cars. The effect is strong...
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Rollover deaths are now rare. But that’s likely due to Electronic Stability Control that prevents cars from flipping -- not stronger A-pillars. Meanwhile, thicker posts are expanding driver blind spots and concealing pedestrians.
iihs.org
SUVs, other large vehicles often hit pedestrians while turning
SUVs, pickups, vans and minivans are more likely than cars to hit pedestrians while making turns. The finding suggests possible visibility problems for larger vehicles.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
You know that post btw a car’s windshield and side window? It’s called an A-pillar – and it’s becoming a problem. A-pillars are expanding, enlarging driver blind zones and concealing pedestrians at crosswalks. Blame car bloat, as well as ill-conceived federal rules. Me, in Bloomberg 🧵
bloomberg.com
Why Did Cars Get So Hard to See Out Of?
If it seems like forward visibility has gotten worse, you’re right: Since the 1990s, cars and trucks have grown bigger A-pillars that can create dangerous blind spots.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
I use this @theonion.com headline when I give presentations about car bloat. The tradeoff is real. Using a truly enormous SUV instead of a merely big one is a tiny bit safer for occupants, but *way* more deadly for everyone else on the road. Info: www.economist.com/interactive/...
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
A two-panel meme featuring a man in a red jacket (Drake). The top panel shows him rejecting the concept of "Driverless vehicles," while the bottom panel shows him approving "Vehicleless drivers." The background is yellow.
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Beyond Fossil Fuels @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Ireland 🇮🇪 is kicking off a summer of European #coal plant closures and has officially eliminated coal from its electricity mix with the closure of its Moneypoint plant! Wind energy now powers more than a third of its electricity and is central to Ireland’s coal phase-out.
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Ember @ember-energy.org · 17/06/2025
EU gas demand is set to FALL 7% by 2030 according to national plans, making new gas investments risky 📉 New gas infrastructure could become stranded assets as countries move towards a more electrified energy system. ember-energy.org/latest-insights/eu…
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
High-fronted SUVs are more likely to kill and are on the rise in Europe: Higher fronts on cars significantly increase the death rate when pedestrians are struck. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Ever-rising height of car bonnets a ‘clear threat’ to children, report says
High-fronted SUVs are more likely to kill and are on the rise in Europe, with the UK an extreme example
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
LATimes is wrong in calling them cars - they are SUVs. Which should indeed not be near schools or on public roads
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Beyond Fossil Fuels @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
For years Italian 🇮🇹 municipalities have faced economic strain, rising energy poverty & climate risks. As local elections unfold, A just, renewable energy transition is not optional—it’s urgent. Our new guide, out now, shows where to start. beyondfossilfuels.org/2025/06/05/d...
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T&E @transportenvironment.org · 28/05/2025
Bigger cars = more pollution 😷 A large pickup truck emits over twice the CO2 of a small car like a VW Golf—36 kg vs 16 kg per 100km. Worse still, people hit by larger cars are far less likely to survive. We need to stop #carspreading to protect our climate and our health. @cleancitiescampaign.org
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 26/05/2025
"...Imperial College London has released a study that shows you’re 44 per cent more likely to die if you’re struck by an SUV as opposed to a more conventional saloon, hatchback or estate. For children, chillingly, that figure rises to 130 per cent." www.irishtimes.com/motors/revie...
irishtimes.com
You’d be genuinely mad to buy an SUV unless you need it - just look at latest climate and safety figures
The new Kodiaq is efficient, but the Superb estate is a much better option
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
“…we seem to have crossed over into emotional support vehicle (ESV) territory. A lot of the tanks I see on the road appear to serve no other purpose than making their owner feel better about their insecurities” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Please, for the love of God, stop buying supersized cars | Arwa Mahdawi
Why would anyone want a car that’s too big for parking spaces, or that’s a menace to other road users? Arwa Mahdawi has a theory
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Beyond Fossil Fuels @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
This is what fair renewable energy looks like 👇 Low Carbon Hub is calling for 2% of Botley West solar farm’s revenue to go to local communities. It's a simple ask that could set a major precedent for how renewable projects across the UK can benefit local people. www.lowcarbonhub.org/make-botley-...
lowcarbonhub.org
Tell Blenheim to Make Botley West Solar Farm Fair
Sign the petition to make Botley West solar farm fair. We’re asking for 2% of the projects revenue to be invested in local communities.
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Tara Connolly @taraconnolly.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
The headline you won't read today about the European Court of Auditors report on EU funding for NGOs is that the auditors found no wrong-doing by NGOs, nor any breach of EU values. An invented scandal to justify cutting EU funding for NGOs and distract from genuine cases of corruption.
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
SUVs: “It is an issue that now needs to be considered as a matter of urgency.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Observer view on SUVs: they are too dangerous and too big, their drivers should be made to pay
If a car generates more potholes, takes up more space and poses more risk, it is only fair that its owner pays more
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Beyond Fossil Fuels @beyondfossilfuels.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Today, 🇫🇮's coal-power era all but ends—4 years ahead of schedule—with the closure of Helsinki’s Salmisaari coal plant. Wind power has surged since 2020 and now provides 1/4 of Finland’s electricity, pushing coal and fossil gas’ combined share down to just 1.6%. beyondfossilfuels.org/2025/04/01/h...
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shiraCH.bsky.social @shirares.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
"Paying more for parking may seem like a modest step, but it sends a clear message about the societal costs that oversized vehicles impose on everyone else."
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
The appropriate response to car bloat: Tax vehicles by vehicle weight, as countries like France and Norway already do.
euronews.com
France cracks down on heavy and polluting vehicles with higher taxes
Paris will ask residents to vote in a referendum on increasing the cost of parking for SUV later this year.
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