Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Car Culture

Campaign Enlists Comedians to Curb Reckless Teen Driving

By Brad Aaron | Mar 6, 2009 | 2 Comments

The Ad Council has some new material in its campaign aimed at teenage drivers. In these spots, a comedic actor (Fred Willard in the ad above) in the backseat of a car with three teens cajoles or threatens the driver into slowing down or minding the road. The gist of the campaign, corresponding with the […]

Simcha Felder Defends Parking Violators From Enforcement “Vultures”

By Ben Fried | Feb 23, 2009 | 14 Comments

In this clip from NY1’s "Road to City Hall," City Council member Simcha Felder defends his proposal to give drivers a five-minute "grace period" before they can be ticketed for overstaying the time limit at parking spots. Taking the law-and-order view is Transportation Alternatives director Paul White, who points out that codifying parking ticket excuses […]

UK Campaign Drives Home the Cost of Reckless Driving

By Brad Aaron | Feb 17, 2009 | 8 Comments

Warning: Graphic video On the heels of TA’s report on the human toll of driving too fast, we bring you this highly disturbing ad from the UK Department for Transport’s THINK! campaign, showing the difference a few miles-per-hour can make when it comes to avoiding a collision. Ideally material like this (Australia has a similar […]

Horns, What Are They Good For?

By Ben Fried | Nov 26, 2008 | 20 Comments

Do we really need the old "danger" exception? Lots of forehead-slapping absurdity in this Slate piece by Dave Johns on the history of the car horn. Like many car culture foibles, horn-honking has a long tradition of intractable drawbacks that outweigh any supposed benefits: In theory, the horn is a safety device; it might rightly […]

Thompson: Car Commuters Should Pay Their Fair Share

By Brad Aaron | Nov 24, 2008 | 11 Comments

City comptroller and mayoral candidate William Thompson is urging the Ravitch Commission today to push for a revival of the commuter tax to help stave off an MTA “doomsday scenario,” expected to unfold next spring unless the agency gets help. Thompson is also advocating a new surcharge on vehicle registrations in 12 counties served by […]

Buy One Albatross, Get One Free!

By Ben Fried | Nov 21, 2008 | 14 Comments

Detroit’s customer incentives have had an air of desperation for a while. With Big Three bankruptcy looking more likely every day, some dealers — like this one in Pembroke Pines, Florida — are venturing into liquidation sale territory (and then some). You read that right: Two Dodge Rams for the price of one. Tow the […]

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