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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 10m

a political downside of US transportation dominated by personal cars going door to door, is that most middle or upper class Americans avoid ever sharing space with people much poorer than them, except employees.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 30/09/2026

Land use includes roads. Every extra lane for a mile of road, in a city, is over an acre of land that could be housing.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 30/09/2026

Who thinks toll-free roads caused underinvestment in US car infrastructure? Who thinks that in the US cutting tax funding for school buses, and closing routes or adding rider fees, is good? Opponents of tax funding for transit opex are in denial about broader US transportation policy.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 30/09/2026

More nighttime anti-car energy

Calvin and Hobbes
March 7, 1991

Hobbes:
An ordinary cheetah can go over 60 miles an hour. A human can hardly do a quarter of that. What a joke!

Calvin:
You think cats are so great! Well humans don't HAVE to be so fast or so strong because WE'RE so much SMARTER! If cats are so great, how come they don't have cars, or rockets, or bombs, or nuclear... um... reactors, or... or... I mean...

Hobbes:
And we can see six times better at night than you can! Six TIMES! And boy, talk about agility! Hmph.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 29/09/2026

How come I don't see all the transit advocates who say Mamdani is bad for wanting to return ~$1 billion/yr to poor bus riders in NYC, because they have this or that infrastructure wish list, post as many criticisms of politicians in cities where transit infrastructure is delayed or over budget?

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 29/09/2026

@adriandaub.bsky.social I'm listening to the IBWTR Dolly ep (on top of my daily Dolly listening), and at the end you mention writing a book on cars Can I pre-order yet? Can you spend a whole episode talking about it? Cars so gendered, look forward to seeing where you're going.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 29/09/2026

Neat, but we need to stop emissions first. Maybe a pilot plant based on this captures a ton of CO2 for $566. If they scale way up, theoretically $92 per ton. That's still ~$1 to capture CO2 from one gallon of gas (before respiratory harms, nevermind paying for roads) arstechnica.com/science/2026...

arstechnica.com

New device captures carbon dioxide by pumping it across a battery

The design requires less energy to capture CO2 than current systems.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 28/09/2026

There are very big problems with Flock (security gaps, enabling abusive searches, etc) and it takes an idea to beat an idea. So opponents, who aren't merely drivers who want to get away with bad behavior, should have a better alternative for these situations. www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news...

cbsnews.com

Flock cameras help identify suspect in deadly Gwinnett County hit-and-run crash, police say

A driver is in custody facing charges in connection with a deadly weekend hit-and-run crash that happened in Gwinnett County, police say.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 28/09/2026

US transit fare discourse seems optimized for discouraging choice ridership. There's broad support for discounts for -Young -Poor -Elderly without drivers licenses -Passes to make marginal trips free for frequent riders Who do they think should pay full fares? Tourists and choice riders with cars?

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 28/09/2026

tired of these arguments against gas taxes always demanding "options" 1) They always ignore (and don't object to) how US transit fare is often much more expensive per trip, especially with passengers, than driving. So paying for gas and tax would still be cheaper! see also bsky.app/profile/did:...

Search for this user's posts about "transit", three posts that bemoan lack of transit but no mention of how much it costs to ride

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Born Broke Again @bornbrokeagain.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"They must always coddle drivers about how hard things are for them, how they’re victims of the system as much as anyone else." A nice take-down of nice boomer Peter Gleick. The old have screwed us all with their addiction to easy fossil-fueled living.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 28/09/2026

See also: Prominent transit "advocates" as firmly opposed to raising taxes to cover operating costs instead of relying on fares ($20 for my family for a few miles yesterday!) in the US where car ownership is widespread and each marginal car trip is cheap, as pure carbrains are opposed to gas taxes.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 28/09/2026

I had just learned of Peter Gleick three weeks ago as a carbrain opponent of bike lanes in California. Then as an active NIMBY. But then, I saw serious defenses of him as a climate scientist. So I tried to reconcile them. Can't. There is a harmful tension. politicsofcars.beehiiv.com/p/peter-glei...

politicsofcars.beehiiv.com

Peter Gleick, Climate Science, and The Three Ages of Water

Appreciating Expertise in Context of Personal and Professional Bias

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 27/09/2026

Suspending the gas tax is the worst sort of "only billionaires should pay taxes" lib slopulism. Tax billionaires until there aren't any, but to have a functioning state the rest of us are going to pay taxes. Lower diesel prices for grocery delivery by banning diesel sales for personal vehicles.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 27/09/2026

86yr old killed a pedestrian, still driving a truck now. Carbrain in my mentions said traffic deaths are accidents absent intent. All that means is drivers and traffic "engineers" think victims are beneath consideration. They say car dependency. I say my family and I depend on not being murdered.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 26/09/2026

every time my bus is stuck behind drivers causing traffic, I think about the carbrains who say it's not fair to have congestion pricing until people privileged enough to drive their own car have (intentionally unspecified) options

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 26/09/2026

when people post that traffic violence is an accident I picture them typing on their phone at the wheel of a luxury SUV

black BMW SUV, driver looking at their phone taken from the driver's side

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 26/09/2026

"I am a huge subway enthusiast. I love the subway cause I get carsick and the subway's fun" Perfect intro! @msrachelforlittles.bsky.social is raising a generation right (against car dependency) Bikers, she's a fan of that too, told littles she bikes to get groceries! youtu.be/2BeMOJ6EhDw

Opening to a Subway Takes video, Ms Rachel says "I am a huge subway enthusiast"

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 25/09/2026

if we're appealing to US drivers, be more ambitious than "compromise with reasonable Republicans on tax funding for transit" or "limit traffic by limiting automobility to people rich and able bodied enough to drive" instead "eliminate traffic by confiscating cars from people on phones" what else?

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 24/09/2026

man in a large truck with a brush guard saw me and my child walking into the crosswalk in plenty of time to cross the double yellow and keep driving at speed past us, I hope a 20 foot deep sinkhole opens up under his truck if you don't know what a brush guard on a truck means, that's 6 meters deep

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 24/09/2026

sigh, like complaining that parking garage owners support eliminating street parking NYC policy should control and reduce car use. For a given quantity of automobility, it should be safer than human drivers, and allocated more equitably than car ownership (disproportionately rich and able bodied)

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 24/09/2026

The failures of Flock are intertwined with management of roads being primarily a police matter, not DOTs or transit agencies. Better than bemoaning it or wishing away traffic risks would be different systems. Consider NYC's congestion pricing and MTA cameras. That's also not popular with drivers!

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 24/09/2026

Every school drop-off by car is a policy failure. Robots won't solve the problems of cars But if somebody's objection to Waymo means ignoring the difference between parents paying ~$0 to drive to school vs $10+ for Waymo, they neither have a point about Waymo nor an economic theory of mode shifting

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 23/09/2026

maritime shipping is difficult to decarbonize, and ~40% of it is moving around fossil fuels. Who will stop import/export first? ;)

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 23/09/2026

Good thread, Nolan link, and Hannah-Jones story. Very different topic but the article's opening about driving to school reminds me of opting away from driving in the US as a parent. I think overall my kids are safer, my relationship with them as a parent is stronger, etc, by minimizing driving,

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 22/09/2026

systemic vs individual is a largely false distinction when it comes to eg eating beef, but leaving that aside there seems to be something gendered in nerding out about EV over ICE, or a heat pump over gas furnace (both good choices) versus disparaging learning healthy flavorful vegetarian recipes

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 20/09/2026

You would absolutely believe what this is responding to. From ANTIFA Holly, perfect no notes

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 20/09/2026

US drivers: any tolls, enforcement against us, or tracking of our property is a police state and bad also them: transit riders should always pay and be surrounded by cops also: any pedestrian or biker who isn't wearing a safety vest and literally Superman will die. No worries, it'll be an accident

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 20/09/2026

gas still too cheap, drivers still speeding on the highway especially the ones still buying new gas trucks even through construction zones, lol at traffic calming being enough for US drivers without enforcement

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 18/09/2026

I know this was not the intent, so a separate thread, requiring all members of Congress to sell cars and get around without ~any car, in DC and at home, would do *wonders* for transportation policy and for self-selection about who runs for office Especially rural transit and bike infrastructure

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 17/09/2026

the US should stop protecting domestic car companies and let in BYD (bipartisan problem), but if American drivers (pejorative) learn about flash chargers before owning a normal EV they're going to want to buy giant four ton <2 mi/kWh EVs after waiting for these chargers to become ubiquitous

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Monorail Maoist @awildschild.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Is SpaceX run by a bunch of ex-railroad guys? They're trying to get out of passenger transport, and demarket everything that isn't bulk commodity traffic arstechnica.com/space/2026/0...

arstechnica.com

After being sidelined, Boeing's Starliner to get starring role in NASA's spaceflight plans

They should fly their capsule. The government paid a lot of money for that."

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 17/09/2026

within the narrow context of transit safety, nobody's going to call for federal funding for enforcement against drivers to stop murders like this from happening

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Michael McLean @michaelmclean.me · 16/09/2026

Need to expand to crosswalks too. Pushing a stroller has radicalized me even more. After a certain number of violations we should be confiscating vehicles and licenses.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 16/09/2026

Listen to The Backfire Effect with @jduffyrice.bsky.social about a wrongful conviction with absurd elements (hypnosis, ninja syndicate), but starting with an everyday harm: The societal tolerance of cars loudly backfiring masked the gunshot that killed the victim. www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/exa...

pushkin.fm

Examined: The Backfire Effect - True Crime Podcast

Nearly 40 years ago, in the parking lot of a community college in Port Huron, Michigan, a 20-year-old student named Scott Macklem was shot dead in broad daylight. His murder shocked the community. It ...

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 16/09/2026

Your Mayor could also treat every traffic death in your city as a preventable tragedy and try to prevent future occurrences. Try to build safe public spaces so that people want to go out without a car. And allow people who can't drive to still get around.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 15/09/2026

Bus riders needing to make a connection to another bus should have signal priority at intersections over drivers. Easy enough to install the standard hardware in buses for a driver to activate.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 15/09/2026

Switching from 1 car per driver to 1 car per household, I suspect also helps weaken the social expectation in many American communities for minor children to get their own car in high school. Where feasible, this means cost savings and huge safety benefits.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 15/09/2026

countdown to Republicans banning gas station signs and taking them all down, so that nobody sees how high gas prices are

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 14/09/2026

theory: The same way drivers look out for cars that could hit them but ignore pedestrians or bikers because they're expected to stay out of the way, carbrains who are otherwise literate will cease being able to parse semantic meaning that's critical of cars, because they assume everyone likes cars

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 14/09/2026

is concern that "if I jaywalk here and a driver on this little road races around at 100mph and murders me, I'll get victim blamed" the pedestrian equivalent of bikers wearing helmets because they're worried about being blamed for injuries a driver causes?

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 13/09/2026

it's gross to frame tolerance of loud car noises in cities as progressive solidarity with authentic working class urban life ignoring that poor people drive the least and suffer the most from car noise, and that most loud cars are expensive and intentional consumption not broken mufflers

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 13/09/2026

💯 Un/underinsurance in the US where drivers who cause serious injury or death pay ~nothing to victims, seems like a distinctly American (derogatory) manifestation of @johnmunro.bsky.social's private property framework. Our mandatory minimums roughly cover a newish car or that amount of bodily injury

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 12/09/2026

I'm glad I found a block of time to read this, and you should too Great piece tying together the auto industry, traffic "engineers", cops, and much more (although imo the collaboration between drivers and cops to violently control non-drivers is even stronger) Looking forward to part III

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 12/09/2026

carbrain traffic "engineers" are why this pedestrian crosswalk (really car infrastructure, to help drivers avoid murdering people who have a right to cross) is flat with the road, to optimize vehicle flow and comfort, while pedestrians have to step down into a huge puddle that gets their feet wet

picture of a crosswalk. A huge dark truck just passed. It's raining heavily. There are huge puddles on both ends of the crosswalk at the curb cuts.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 12/09/2026

short haul flights should mostly be rail, same as car trips should mostly be transit or active travel. To the extent either happen they should be electrified. fair fuel taxes to reflect the harms of combustion would make both mode shifting and electrification happen faster youtu.be/nM86DBOqgPM

youtu.be

The World’s Largest Electric Aircraft Just Flew

YouTube video by Y Combinator

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 12/09/2026

This traffic calming is a good step! It is disgusting how drivers interpret a crash, if they notice it at all, as if the resulting traffic jam is the main problem and therefore texting or speeding right afterwards is okay. Then ignore it entirely as they speed by the next day.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 12/09/2026

The question is not whether or not to politicize death when drivers kill pedestrians, but rather how to politicize it? The #WarOnWalking has violent drivers, police support, state funding, and traffic "engineers" on their side. Politicians actually opposed need a new framework, not tweaks.

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Politics of Cars @thismachinekillsfascists.bike · 11/09/2026

YouTube suggested a video pitching Tesla FSD as "THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION" to enable more dangerous driving by irresponsible elderly people who'd rather risk everyone else's life instead of going to therapy

screen showing me reporting a YouTube video for "Harmful or dangerous acts"

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