379
submitted 1 month ago by Showroom7561@lemmy.ca to c/fuck_cars@lemmy.ml

Walking my grandkid to/from school, it absolutely floors me how many dangerous drivers there are around kids.

In a matter of maybe 10 minutes, I've witnessed:

  • at least a dozen cars illegal parked. It's not the parking that bothers me, but the fact that these cars are often parked on turns or just before intersections, making it impossible for other drivers to see small kids.
  • Several people not stopping at stop signs, including at the exit of the school parking lot.
  • One car, who completely blew through a stop sign at the front of the school, made a left turn and nearly hit a guy walking his kid. The driver didn't even slow down.
  • Super fucking huge pickup trucks parked in the school parking lot, but their long ass hangs well over the sidewalk near the kindergarden area, leaving very little space to use the sidewalk.
  • Speeding. Obviously, you have to have speeding in school zones, right?

This happens every day, during drop off and pick up. I was told that bylaw were “cracking down”, but no, they aren't. If they were, our municipality would generate $5000 in fines each and every day at every school.

The other day, I rode my bike past another school as kids were getting out. Not only was their massive parking lot completely full, but they had blocked the bike trail (WITH PYLONS) to make space for more cars. Then as I entered onto the road, cars were illegally parked along the road and on a bridge for a like 100m. Making it extremely difficult and dangerous to cross because they blocked visibility for me and other drivers on the road.

I asked the cross guard if these students all lived out of town, requiring every parent to drive them home; he obviously didn't get my joke.

Seriously, fuck cars. All of them!

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] noname_yet2077@lemmy.world 79 points 1 month ago

For me this is not "fuck cars", it's more about "fuck stupid idiot trashy human beings". But you know.. If I was a kid i wouldn't like to breath in car fumes, so maybe it is "fuck cars" after all

[-] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 52 points 1 month ago

The idiot trashy human beings aren't trying to kill my kids except when they're in a car on the street we're trying to cross, so I think getting rid of the cars would help tremendously.

[-] voracitude@lemmy.world 13 points 1 month ago

Au contraire, mon ami - they're trying to kill anyone, it's just a higher chance to get a kid in a school zone.

Source: the intersection down the road from me.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

The horrible trashy people also let their aggressive dogs out to roam unattended, leave unsecured firearms around the house, and other things that are not as frequently deadly, but just as stupid.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] akilou@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 month ago

This is literally the "safe systems approach" encouraged to be adopted by DOTs. It assumes people will make mistakes, or otherwise just be "idiot trashy human beings" as a fundamental principal and then designs a transportation system from there. So you end up with separated, protected bike lakes, neckdowns, speed humps, and bollards out the ass.

[-] delirious_owl@discuss.online 8 points 1 month ago

Hear me out: cars make people into trashy human beings

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 5 points 1 month ago

An interesting thing I heard in a video. A thought experiment for your friends. 2 questions, in this order.

Is it rude to smoke around people who are eating in a restaurant? If so, why?

And then

Using that, is it rude to allow polluting cars near people eating food outside? Is the answer different from the first? If so, why?

[-] PonyOfWar@pawb.social 51 points 1 month ago

It's also a problem that's getting worse. When I was in school in the 2000s, like 80% of the kids took the bus and half of the remaining ones (like me) came by bike. Now my niece goes to the same school and she's one of very few kids still taking the bus there. The schoolyard turns into a chaotic mess of SUVs every morning. I guess it goes hand in hand with helicopter parenting becoming normalized.

[-] delirious_owl@discuss.online 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yeah, cycling to elementary school on my own was one of my favorite childhood memories.

Unfortunately, nobody told me it was illegal to ride on the sidewalk, so I didn't realize I was being an asshole until I was a teenager.

[-] yonder@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 month ago

IIRC in my area kids can legally ride on sidewalks which makes sense.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] MindTraveller@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

You weren't being an asshole, you were breaking an unjust law. You were a hero, like Robin Hood.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

I drop off my kiddo in the morning because it is a 10 minute ride and is on my way to work while the bus is a 50 minute ride. She rides the bus home in the afternoon, because time is less of an issue.

All of the schools she has gone to have organized dropoff routes so everyone gets dropped off on the passenger side and it basicslly works like a drive through. Far safer than the convoluted mess that I got to watch as a bus rider when I was a kid.

Wish we had better public transportation so dedicated school buses were not so necessary.

[-] LovesTha@floss.social 4 points 1 month ago

@spankmonkey @PonyOfWar I caught a public bus to high school. To get an extra 20m of sleep I caught the one that didn't go into the school and stopped on the wrong side of the road 1m before school started. To not be late we'd all walk out across the 4 lane road without looking. Cars will just stop.

After someone was rear ended the stop was removed.

[-] grue@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

After someone was rear ended the stop was removed.

Classic: punish the pedestrians and transit riders for car driver fuckups.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[-] TheSlad@sh.itjust.works 37 points 1 month ago

I live less than a half-mile from my kids' school, and people ask why I walk them instead of driving... everyday I see people who live closer than I get in their cars and drive 2 blocks to pick up their kids!

Its madness I tell you

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 month ago

That's honestly disgusting. Not only for the environment and public safety, but those missed opportunities to get some level of activity in your day are simply pissed away in a car.

Like, people are OK commuting by car for 1-3 hours a day... but a 20 or 30 minute walk with a dozen benfits? NO WAY!

[-] Facebones@reddthat.com 12 points 1 month ago

So many of them really just refuse to exist in public space. "The public" is full of evil undesirables, so let me go from my private space (home) to my private space (car) to go to my private space (work/school/venue) so i never have to exit in the scarrryyy public.

Even my more progressive best friends (a couple) refuse to go downtown because they can't park directly in front of where they're going, even though where they'd probably find a spot is still closer than your parking spot at Walmart or a grocery store - but I'm the crazy one for not prioritizing getting a new vehicle at all costs, sure.

Shit is bonkers.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] theskyisfalling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 31 points 1 month ago

Another almost guaranteed way of converting someone to the fuck cars mentality, ride a bike on the road and around traffic.

In relation to your post in the past I have worked as a parking CEO (civil enforcement officer - modern name for traffic warden)

We had to do school watches every day, covering different schools within our area and issuing fines to people that try to stop / park in areas around schools, particularly the yellow zig zags directly at the exits of the school.

The amount of abuse you got every time you were near a school, these idiots don't seem to realise you are there to try and enforce rules that help keep their children safe as well as others. Parents are some of the most entitled pieces of shit, especially around schools.

Like you say as well, most of these fucks driving to pick up their little shits live less than 5 minutes by car from the school.

Fuck them and their cars!

[-] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 12 points 1 month ago

I know people who DRIVE to the school 2 blocks away from their home! It is just baffling to me! Okay let's say you just have to helicopter and go pick them up, you still have to DRIVE?! Just walk over! "Oh well it rains" _umbrella "but in winter" coats. Ffs it's two blocks.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

We walk our kids to school pretty much every day, and I 100% agree.

Almost exactly three years ago, at a school about four miles away from ours, a driver killed a seven-year-old girl on her way home from school, and the very next morning a driver ignored the signal and cut me off as I was trying to walk my own kids across the street. In the next couple of months, a city ordinance meant to improve pedestrian safety was shot down by the state because it was "anti-car." Since then, any efforts at traffic calming around schools has been slow-rolled and ignored at pretty much every opportunity. Car dismissal is prioritized at our kids' school (we've actively had to go inside and pluck our kids out of the car line at the beginning of every school year so far because they don't pay attention), bus dismissal gets second place, and this is the first year that the crossing guard has been there every day.

Literally the only positive thing that we've seen around our school is that they've reduced the road from two (very thin) lanes in each direction to only one; that has helped tremendously, but even just this morning a driver who wasn't paying attention almost hit the crossing guard as we were about to step out into the street.

I am shaking with rage even thinking about it right now. The situation is dire out there, and our elected officials are doing worse than nothing. Our school administrators are making it worse.

Talk about radicalizing. I want to start slashing tires.

[-] SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Be the change you want to see in the world

load more comments (10 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] No1@aussie.zone 20 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I've lived near a school, and you learn to avoid going out during drop off or pickup times. Driving, riding, walking, it doesn't matter.

It is not safe. At all.

[-] scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech 8 points 1 month ago

If it's their kid everyone should slow down and be safe. If it's anyone else's kid then they're just in a hurry and you wouldn't understand

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 month ago

It is not safe. At all.

That an area designed for our most vulnerable demographic is so dangerous that adults wouldn't want to be in it says a lot about North American culture.

[-] No1@aussie.zone 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

says a lot about North American culture.

lol, I'm in Australia, but sometimes bad things are universal....

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] TheFeatureCreature@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

I lived close enough to my school that I was able to walk every day. Every morning I had to deal with self-centered parents dropping their crotchspawn off at school. I nearly got run over numerous times while crossing the street- a few of which got close enough that their front bumpers touched the backs of my legs as I walked. One parent cut in front of me instead of behind me, and I was able to punch the back of their car as they sped off.

Keep in mind I was a child when this was happening. These were parents that were very nearly running over a child willingly.

[-] meowMix2525@lemm.ee 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

There are actually a lot of ways to slow down cars beyond asking nicely with signs. And it's not just speed bumps.

The way we design our roads psychologically encourages speeding. Shitty people are out there but road design is important too.

I have a video on the tip of my tongue that I'd like to link, demonstrating this, but I'm too lazy to look it up right now. Maybe later.

Edit: this one will do.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago

The way we design our roads psychologically encourages speeding.

I think most "major" roads are like that, but the school I have to get to is in a subdivision that isn't busy. And people are still rolling through stop signs while looking at their phone. I think being in a car detaches people from the reality of what's going on around them. Like playing a video game from behind a windshield.

load more comments (4 replies)
[-] BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee 14 points 1 month ago

I live in a small town, i went to school here, and i moved back a couple of years ago. Walking to school is now considered dangerous for children. Why you ask? Because half the parents drive their children to school, which means instead of having no cars around the school, there are now 50 cars around the school at the same time that children walk to school. I feel like i' taking crazy pills.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 month ago

And I heard in a public consultation meeting about bike lanes that... get this... Adding bike lanes would make it dangerous for kids to get to school.

What backwards universe did we wake up in?

[-] MouseKeyboard@ttrpg.network 4 points 1 month ago

And that becomes a vicious circle as more children are driven to school, making it more dangerous to walk, so more are driven...

[-] wuphysics87@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 month ago

Welcome back to school kids. I hope you all had a good summer. Today we are going to play a game. It's called Frogger

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

Graduating from school in Canada or the US is basically "Congratulations on surviving not being killed by guns or cars!".

[-] utopiah@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 month ago

Now you can finally relax and enjoy repaying your $100K+ loan!

[-] saigot@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I lived in an apartment in view of a school. Me and my now wife used to sit on the balcony and play a game of counting the traffic violations and near crashes. it'd easily be 10 near crashes in a 30min period during pick up times. insanity.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago

Traffic infraction bingo sounds like fun! /s

[-] Cataphract@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 month ago

Just wanted to throw in my reality living in a rural area and all the factors that lead into the same problem we have around here.

The walk to my middle school was 1 1/2 hours, 2 when distracted. All 4 lane highways, with no sidewalks. Bus drivers are in high demand with low pay/part time, bus routes can easily go into a 3 hour ride in the afternoon. There is typically 1 highschool per county (must keep the roster pool available for the sports teams), we're talking a 42 minute straight drive just to get there (so you can sit in trailers because they're over capacity).

They need to up the bus driver pay, de-stigmatize the position with people who are getting more than fair compensation so they can be proud of their work and a community member who very much actually, physically, is in the world of the growing citizens. Have an assistant who helps with the route and manages the adolescent children (bus shit was wild back in my day, like 3rd base shenanigans going on and I doubt it's stopped).

I guarantee you, no one having to drive through that shit-storm is enjoying or wanting that experience. Everyone's anxiety is high and they're still half asleep in the morning, with the potential to accidentally injure a child before you even get to work. Some of the counties have improved with better traffic techniques like time-regulated flow, roundabouts, and traffic assistants. But, it's still so depressing and makes you feel like you're in some industrial meat processing plant line.

It sucks either way. Having your kid get home at 6pm to start on homework (no internet on the bus, most assignments require connectivity) which can take hours, feed them, make sure they get ready for bed by 8-9, then start again at 5am because the bus shows up ass early before the world wakes up. Real public transit doesn't exist in a 80 mile radius around here, so there's really no other currently available options besides all the crappy scenarios being told that everyone rightfully hates.

[-] tetris11@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 month ago

1hr walk is like a 20minute bike ride. All they need is a dirt path that follows the road with 2m grass gap

[-] RoquetteQueen@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The car drop off lines they have in America look like pure torture. I don't understand. Does America not have school buses anymore?

Edit: I'm also Canadian and we have school buses where I am. I don't think we have the same car lines I've heard about in the U.S.

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 month ago

Does America not have school buses anymore?

I'm in Canada, and yes, we do. In fact, the buses were having difficulty getting into the school's parking lot because of the way the illegally parked cars were quite literally at the edge of the turn (leaving little space for the bus). It's been sheer madness these past few weeks.

And it's hilarious (not) when people put on their hazard lights to park illegally while they pick up their kid. I swear to the gods, if my municipality ever gave citizens the ability to write up parking tickets, I'd reduce our property taxes by 10% from the revenue I'd generate! 😄

[-] yonder@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago

The high schools in my city have dedicated city bus routes that transport most of the students. All students who live more than about 1km away get a city bus pass for the year, which means the school transport can be pretty flexible. This is in Canada btw. Many of the people who opt to drive instead either cone from far away because of certain programs at the school or are just privelidged af.

[-] theparadox@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

I pass by two schools, right next to each other, during my commute to work. There are School Zone speed limit signs that also you your own speed in warning. I always slow down to at least 30 (zone limit is actually 25).

I usually stick to ~30 because I'm on a motorcycle and I have cars ride my ass, clearly pissed off at my slow speed. To my amazement, they then proceed to angrily pull into the school parking lot and drop off their own kids.

[-] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 month ago

They are likely mad that their kid misses the bus which makes them late to work which makes them fall behind.

Not defending asshole behavior but I've seen enough parents race through my small neighborhood to drop off their kid at the bus stop.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] KaRunChiy@fedia.io 5 points 1 month ago

The only near miss accident I've been in was next to a school, there were buses lined up at the side perfectly hiding a small parking lot and a small entrance gap. As I was heading down the main road I was being cautious, and just as I passed the gap me and my instructor both freaked the hell out and gunned it because someone in an SUV ignored the blind spots and just sped through the gap in the buses as fast as they could without looking for any oncoming traffic. Missed by maybe 6 inches, what is wrong with people

[-] Showroom7561@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago

I saw a teenager get hit crossing at a crosswalk in front of a school. Red light, driver in the left turn lane didn't stop behind the line as the girl was crossing. She ended up on the hood and tossed.

I guess the only reason she wasn't severely injured was that she was hit by a car and not a monster truck.

[-] linkhidalgogato@lemmy.ml 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

in my commute there is a small school i think a kindergarten right on the exit of a highway, there atleast half a dozen "drive safely" white signs with a bunch of flowers and toys on them, around the intersection. Extra fucked thing is those are just the ones that the families still maintain...

[-] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 5 points 1 month ago

I have to leave extra early during the school year because if I don't it takes like 5-10 minutes just to get through the section of the neighborhood that has the bus stop (which is in the middle of the neighborhood for some reason instead of by the entrance where it would make sense) because both sides of the street are lined with parents waiting on the bus in their cars and the street is only wide enough for one car to pass through at a time. They sit there and wait longer than it would take to just drive their kid to the fucking school.

[-] Blackrook7@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Schools, neighborhoods, cities, suburbs, all far too crowded.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2024
379 points (97.0% liked)

Fuck Cars

9804 readers
58 users here now

This community exists as a sister community/copycat community to the r/fuckcars subreddit.

This community exists for the following reasons:

You can find the Matrix chat room for this community here.

Rules

  1. Be nice to each other. Being aggressive or inflammatory towards other users will get you banned. Name calling or obvious trolling falls under that. Hate cars, hate the system, but not people. While some drivers definitely deserve some hate, most of them didn't choose car-centric life out of free will.

  2. No bigotry or hate. Racism, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, chauvinism, fat-shaming, body-shaming, stigmatization of people experiencing homeless or substance users, etc. are not tolerated. Don't use slurs. You can laugh at someone's fragile masculinity without associating it with their body. The correlation between car-culture and body weight is not an excuse for fat-shaming.

  3. Stay on-topic. Submissions should be on-topic to the externalities of car culture in urban development and communities globally. Posting about alternatives to cars and car culture is fine. Don't post literal car fucking.

  4. No traffic violence. Do not post depictions of traffic violence. NSFW or NSFL posts are not allowed. Gawking at crashes is not allowed. Be respectful to people who are a victim of traffic violence or otherwise traumatized by it. News articles about crashes and statistics about traffic violence are allowed. Glorifying traffic violence will get you banned.

  5. No reposts. Before sharing, check if your post isn't a repost. Reposts that add something new are fine. Reposts that are sharing content from somewhere else are fine too.

  6. No misinformation. Masks and vaccines save lives during a pandemic, climate change is real and anthropogenic - and denial of these and other established facts will get you banned. False or highly speculative titles will get your post deleted.

  7. No harassment. Posts that (may) cause harassment, dogpiling or brigading, intentionally or not, will be removed. Please do not post screenshots containing uncensored usernames. Actual harassment, dogpiling or brigading is a bannable offence.

Please report posts and comments that violate our rules.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS