ZedLeg wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2026 4:31 pm
Americans having to learn why government regulation is good from first principles for the third time in 50 years
"The true number of infections is almost certainly higher, because many people with mild illness recover,” said Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of the CDC’s division of foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases
ZedLeg wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2026 4:31 pm
Americans having to learn why government regulation is good from first principles for the third time in 50 years
"The true number of infections is almost certainly higher, because many people with no health insurance suffer in silence because they can’t afford basic healthcare,” said Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of the CDC’s division of foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases
So they're fired then
Only good news please
Fixed that for him
Re: Trump
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 8:32 am
by integrale_evo
I watched a random road video on how dangerous American roads were, made sense with their grid layouts and multiple lanes crossing multiple lanes, but also how pedestrian unfriendly most layouts are.
Add to that the lack of legislation which means things like the cybertrucks exist and big trucks still constructed like they were in the 50s. Still seems crazy that this was the same country that brought in ridiculous car bumper impact regs in the 70s / 80s which ruined the look of many vehicles.
Then I looked up the stats, road deaths per 100,000.
Uk - 2.6
USA - 14.2
So Americans aren’t just good at killing Americans with guns…
Re: Trump
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:09 am
by DeskJockey
Outside a few of the major cities, there is no pedestrian access to anything. It is crazy.
Years ago I was visiting a friend in Charlotte North Carolina. He lived in the suburbs in a flat. About half a mile down the road was a retail park with a supermarket, we could see it from his windows. To get there you had to get in the car, drive half a mile away from the retail park to get to the nearest U-turn on the four lane dual carriageway, turn round, drive a mile to the shops, then back half a mile to get to his.
Utterly stupid. Within the complex his flat was in, there were pavements leading to the carparks, and nowhere else. Outside on the main road there were no pavements, public transport or anything except the DC.
Re: Trump
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:46 am
by Swervin_Mervin
DeskJockey wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:09 am
Outside a few of the major cities, there is no pedestrian access to anything. It is crazy.
Years ago I was visiting a friend in Charlotte North Carolina. He lived in the suburbs in a flat. About half a mile down the road was a retail park with a supermarket, we could see it from his windows. To get there you had to get in the car, drive half a mile away from the retail park to get to the nearest U-turn on the four lane dual carriageway, turn round, drive a mile to the shops, then back half a mile to get to his.
Utterly stupid. Within the complex his flat was in, there were pavements leading to the carparks, and nowhere else. Outside on the main road there were no pavements, public transport or anything except the DC.
It's a cultural thing. Very odd. Remember Bill Bryson writing about it when he moved back for a few years. They moved to New England (iirc) and apparently he used to walk into the local town. Would regularly get stopped by people he knew asking if he wanted a lift. Until they stopped asking eventually, with many just thinking he's a bit odd.
I can't recall where, but there is one US city in particular that has excellent walking and cycling infrastructure. Apparently they made a conscious decision decades ago to address reducing car dependency.
Re: Trump
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:16 am
by ZedLeg
Portland Oregon has a great pedestrian and public transport culture, but that’s because everyone who lives there is a dirty communist
Re: Trump
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 2:27 pm
by Rich B
Bentonville, Arkansas is a town for mountain bikers, with lines of jumps and tech on the pavements.
Re: Trump
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 3:18 pm
by dinny_g
ZedLeg wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:16 am
Portland Oregon has a great pedestrian and public transport culture, but that’s because everyone who lives there is a dirty communist
But it's sadly more likely because you can't get into a car when your bent over on Fentanyl
ZedLeg wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:16 am
Portland Oregon has a great pedestrian and public transport culture, but that’s because everyone who lives there is a dirty communist
But it's sadly more likely because you can't get into a car when your bent over on Fentanyl
That sounds like a skill issue on your part, Dinny
Re: Trump
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2026 3:57 pm
by dinny_g
Re: Trump
Posted: Fri Jul 17, 2026 9:55 am
by Swervin_Mervin
ZedLeg wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:16 am
Portland Oregon has a great pedestrian and public transport culture, but that’s because everyone who lives there is a dirty communist
No it was somewhere really obscure. I've chucked the article now sadly, which covered the must accessible cities across the world and what measures they'd implemented. It was particularly focussed on those with very low to nil road fatalities, and this place in the US came out top. Damnit
ETA:
Managed to find it and I'm getting my wires crossed. The US city I was thinking of is Hoboken in NJ. A Sikh councillor commissioned a redesign of local streets in 2016, and was elected mayor the following year. No road fatalities in 8yrs.
In terms of timescales I was getting mixed up with Pontevedra, in Galicia, that started prioritising pedestrians in 1999. The mayor pedestrianised 300,000sqm within weeks of being elected, undergrounded car parks etc. and put free car parks around the edge of the city. No road fatalities since 2011.
ZedLeg wrote: Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:16 am
Portland Oregon has a great pedestrian and public transport culture, but that’s because everyone who lives there is a dirty communist
No it was somewhere really obscure. I've chucked the article now sadly, which covered the must accessible cities across the world and what measures they'd implemented. It was particularly focussed on those with very low to nil road fatalities, and this place in the US came out top. Damnit
ETA:
Managed to find it and I'm getting my wires crossed. The US city I was thinking of is Hoboken in NJ. A Sikh councillor commissioned a redesign of local streets in 2016, and was elected mayor the following year. No road fatalities in 8yrs.
In terms of timescales I was getting mixed up with Pontevedra, in Galicia, that started prioritising pedestrians in 1999. The mayor pedestrianised 300,000sqm within weeks of being elected, undergrounded car parks etc. and put free car parks around the edge of the city. No road fatalities since 2011.
Huh? Ive stayed many times in Lincoln Harbo(u)r and can’t say I noticed fewer cars everywhere..
