Follow @theurbancountry on Twitter Find us on Facebook Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via e-mail Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via RSS
Follow @theurbancountry on Twitter Find us on Facebook Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via e-mail Subscribe to theurbancountry.com via RSS

Incredible That Americans Entrusted With Driving Cars

Incredible That Americans Entrusted With Driving Cars
Singapore traffic jam. Photo courtesy of epSos.de  Enjoyed this Onion article about drivers: Citing that a majority of Americans are irresponsible, easily distracted people who have little regard for other human beings, a new Department of Transportation report revealed Wednesday that it’s “actually kind of crazy” that U.S. citizens are allowed to drive automobiles. “Americans ...

The Chinese’ Ridiculous Aversion To Seatbelts 2

The Chinese’ Ridiculous Aversion To Seatbelts
China’s “seatbelt t-shirt” – Photo courtesy of hljnews / carnewschina Despite China’s national seatbelt legislation coming into effect in 2004, seatbelts are still not widely used in China almost 10 years later. In fact, virtually nobody in China wears a seatbelt while travelling in the rear seat of an automobile. This, despite the fact that ...

Vintage Photo: Please Mr. Motorist… 1

Vintage Photo: Please Mr. Motorist…
  Photo courtesy of Carlton Reid via Flickr, and spotted on Facebook via Hypothyroid Mom via @ausyeda What a lovely way to provide drivers a friendly reminder to be cautious around bicyclists. James D. Schwartz is the Editor of The Urban Country and is based in Toronto, Canada. You can contact James at james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com or ...

Volvo Technology For Inattentive Drivers 1

Volvo Technology For Inattentive Drivers
Photo screenshot from Volvo YouTube video Volvo has recently announced new sensor technology that automatically applies the brakes if a cyclist obstructs the path of the car. From the YouTube video: All of Volvo’s new cars sold from May will include the sensors, which initially warn drivers with a row of red lights that flash ...

Toronto Police: To “Serve and Protect” Whom Exactly? 11

Toronto Police: To “Serve and Protect” Whom Exactly?
Toronto Police Service car photo courtesy of Stewart Rand The Toronto Police Service, with its long history of blaming the victims when it comes to traffic fatalities, has kicked off its latest blame the victim campaign, which it is calling “Do the bright thing”. The campaign urges pedestrians to wear fluorescent clothing so that distracted ...

Yahoo! Inc Forces Employees To Commute To Office Every Day 7

Yahoo! Inc Forces Employees To Commute To Office Every Day
Office worker in cubicle – Photo courtesy of redteam  As if to hasten its long demise, Yahoo! Inc has initiated a policy to force all of its employees to commute to the office each day. There is some irony in this policy; perhaps Yahoo! is reminiscing on its former glory days and decided to initiate ...

In Memory of Mary Thompson & Peter Root 6

In Memory of Mary Thompson & Peter Root
Peter Root and Mary Thompson in an undated photo (Photo courtesy of Jerry Root) Last week we covered the sad story about British Bicycle Bloggers Mary Thompson and Peter Root, who were tragically killed in Thailand after bicycling around the world since July 2011. I didn’t personally know Mary or Peter, but their untimely deaths ...

British Bicycle Bloggers On World Journey Killed in Thailand 24

British Bicycle Bloggers On World Journey Killed in Thailand
Two On Four Wheels blog photos from world journey – Courtesy of Two On Four Wheels In a tragic end to their fascinating bicycle odyssey around the world, Peter Root and Mary Thompson from the “Two On Four Wheels” bicycle blog were killed in Thailand Wednesday after being struck by a pickup truck. Root and ...

19-Car Pileup Caught on Camera 3

19-Car Pileup Caught on Camera
19-car pileup in China – photo snapshot from YouTube video  A 19-car-pileup that happened on February 7th was caught on camera in Wuxi, Jiangsu, China. Scroll to 1:00 to see the cars begin sliding in to each other. Several drivers from the pileup get out of their car and risk their lives to apparently try ...

China Traffic Light Art Installation Confuses Tourists, Journalists 1

China Traffic Light Art Installation Confuses Tourists, Journalists
Photo of Chongqing’s traffic signal art installation courtesy of Shanghaiist In Chongqing China, the world’s “most confusing traffic lights” have been baffling tourists and journalists alike. The UK’s Daily Mail reported in May 2012: Motorists in China have been left bemused by this traffic signalling system, where officials installed over 20 sets of lights on ...