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The “Get The F#ck Out of My Way” Attitude 10

The
BMW SUV – Courtesy of Curtis Perry A few days ago, an article was posted by a bicyclist into the Craigslist “rants and raves” section. The poster highlighted a road rage incident in which an angry driver in a blue BMW SUV screamed and honked at the bicyclist to get out of the way, in ...

Slow Down – Other People Make Mistakes 3

Slow Down – Other People Make Mistakes
Speed ad – Mistakes – Screenshot from YouTube video  Here is a very powerful video highlighting the virtue of driving cautiously and slowing down in anticipation of somebody else making a mistake: When you are behind the wheel of a car, please know that you are in a killing machine, and your actions can negatively ...

When Highways Are Art

When Highways Are Art
Edmonton highway photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country Massive highways and bridges are often ugly structures; normally the furthest thing from art. On a recent flight home from an Edmonton business trip, the highways were lit up and the reflection of the street lights blurred from the snow looked almost magical out of ...

Street Racing & Speeding Is No Accident: The Death of Paul Walker 10

Street Racing & Speeding Is No Accident: The Death of Paul Walker
Paul Walker Crash Site – Photo courtesy of dfirecop Last Saturday at 3:30PM, Fast & Furious star Paul Walker was killed alongside his friend, financial adviser Roger Rodas after a Porsche Carrera GT burst into flames after hitting a lamp post. The loss of two lives is indeed tragic, and my condolences go out to ...

Taming The Beast On Our Streets

Taming The Beast On Our Streets
Toronto crosswalk photo courtesy of Ashley Buxo  My daughter Sofia has been home from daycare for the past couple days with a fever. While walking to the pharmacy this morning, I was crossing a busy downtown street with Sofia in the stroller and my dog in tow. I waited about 20 seconds for a small ...

Dad Arrested For Picking Up Kids At School By Foot 202

Dad Arrested For Picking Up Kids At School By Foot
Screenshot from YouTube video of Jim Howe being arrested for picking up his children on foot A Tennessee father was arrested recently by an overzealous officer for picking his children up at school by foot. The school’s policy is that children can only be picked up by parents driving cars or kids can board a ...

Quote Of The Week: “Now I Know Why You Ride Your Bike Everywhere” 1

Quote Of The Week: “Now I Know Why You Ride Your Bike Everywhere”
Angry driver photo courtesy of Joseph Mietus  Some friends from out of town were visiting Toronto last weekend for a wedding. At the wedding, one friend said to me: “Now I know why you ride your bike everywhere. If I had to deal with this traffic every day, I would shoot myself” James D. Schwartz ...

Car Culture Indoctrination Through Nursery Rhymes 9

Car Culture Indoctrination Through Nursery Rhymes
Driving in my car – YouTube video by Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes  It is difficult in our society for a person of legal driving age to avoid the systematic indoctrination that car culture forces upon us. From car advertisements on television & billboards, to celebrities showing off their fancy wheels, to “auto” sections inside newspapers, ...

Amidst Car Culture, Breaking The Law Is “Ethical” 70

Amidst Car Culture, Breaking The Law Is “Ethical”
Driving at night – Photo by Dennis Wilkinson Here in Canada – and especially in Ontario – you could be cruising along the highway at 125km/h in a maximum 100km/h zone – and many other drivers will still be buzzing past you. Bicycling on an empty sidewalk, or rolling through a red light at an ...

Warning: Driving Kills, Maims, Suffocates & Ravages 1

Warning: Driving Kills, Maims, Suffocates & Ravages
Driving warning labels – courtesy of Chris Bruntlett / Hush Magazine  In a recent article in Hush magazine, our friend Chris Bruntlett argues that our addiction to driving can perhaps be overcome by treating driving as the new smoking, or viewing driving as “society’s cancer”. Chris created the above cigarette warning labels for drivers to ...