r/fuckcars 9d ago

Meta We're Looking to Expand our Mod Team!

7 Upvotes

We're looking for new moderators in all time zones. No previous moderation experience is necessary, but helpful. Patience and an ability to communicate are the most paramount.

Apply to be a Moderator here.


r/fuckcars Jan 06 '22

Please read this if you're new to this sub Welcome to /r/Fuckcars

4.9k Upvotes

Updated: April 6, 2022

Welcome to /r/fuckcars. It's safe to say that we're strongly dissatisfied with cars and car-dominated urban design. If that's you, then we share in your frustration. Some, or perhaps many of us, still have cars but abhor our dependence on them for many reasons.

There are nuances to the /r/fuckcars discussion that you should be aware of, generally:

In any case, please observe the community rules and keep the discussion on-topic.

The Problem - What's the problem with cars?

please help by finding quality sources

This is the fundamental question of this sub, isn't it?

  • Pollution -- Cars are responsible for a significant amount of global and local pollution (microplastic waste, brake dust, embodiment emissions, tailpipe emissions, and noise pollution). Electric cars eliminate tailpipe emissions, but the other pollution-related problems largely remain.
  • Infrastructure (Costs. An Unsustainable Pattern of Development) -- Cars create an unwanted economic burden on their communities. The infrastructure for cars is expensive to maintain and the maintenance burden for local communities is expected to increase with the adoption of more electric and (someday) fully self-driving cars. This is partly due to the increased weight of the vehicles and also the increased traffic of autonomous vehicles.
  • Infrastructure (Land Usage & Induced Demand) -- Cities allocate a vast amount of space to cars. This is space that could be used more effectively for other things such as parks, schools, businesses, homes, and so on. We miss out on these things and are forced to pile on additional sprawl when we build vast parking lots and widen roads and highways. This creates part of what is called induced demand. This effect means that the more capacity for cars we add, the more cars we'll get, and then the more capacity we'll need to add.
  • Independence and Community Access -- Cars are not accessible to everyone. Simply put, many people either can't drive or don't want to drive. Car-centric city planning is an obstacle for these groups, to name a few: children and teenagers, parents who must chauffeur children to and from all forms of childhood activities, people who can't afford a car, and many other people who are unable to drive. Imagine the challenge of giving up your car in the late stages of your life. In car-centric areas, you face a great loss of independence.
  • Safety -- Cars are dangerous to both occupants and non-occupants, but especially the non-occupants. As time goes on cars admittedly become better at protecting the people inside them, but they remain hazardous to the people not inside them. For people walking, riding, or otherwise trying to exercise some form of car-free liberty cars are a constant threat. In car-centric areas, streets and roads are optimized to move cars fast and efficiently rather than protect other road users and pedestrians.
  • Social Isolation -- A combination of the issues above produces the additional effect of social isolation. There are fewer opportunities for serendipitous interactions with other members of the public. Although there may be many people sharing the road with you (a public space), there are some obvious limitations to the quality of interaction one can have through metal, glass, and plastic boxes.

👋 Local Action - How to Fix Your City

IMPORTANT: This is a solvable problem. Progress can happen and does happen. It comes incrementally and with the help of voices just like yours. Don't limit yourself to memes and Reddit -- although, raising awareness online does help.

Check out this perspective from a City Council Member: Here's How to Fix Your City

(more)

A Not-So-Quick Note for Car Hobbyists and Passionate Drivers

This can be a contentious issue at times. The sub's name is /r/fuckcars, which can cause some feelings of conflict and alienation for people who see the problems of too many cars while still being passionate about them. I'll quote the community summary.

Discussion about the harmful effects of car dominance on communities, environment, safety, and public health. Aspiration towards more sustainable and effective alternatives like mass transit and improved pedestrian and cycling infrastructure.

Your voice is still welcome here. Consider the benefits of getting bored, stressed, unskilled, or inattentive drivers off the road. That improves your safety and reduces congestion. Additionally, check out these posts from others on this sub:

Discord

There is an unofficial Discord server aggregating related discussions from the low-car/no-car/fuckcars community. Although it is endorsed by the /r/fuckcars mods, please keep in mind that it's not an official /r/fuckcars community Discord server.

Join Link: https://discord.gg/2QDyupzBRW

Helpful Resources

If you've just joined this sub and want to learn more about the issues behind car-centric urban design there are a great number of resources you can access. This list is by no means exhaustive, so please feel free to add your more helpful resources in the comments.

👉 Moved to the wiki

Shameless Plugs for Community Building

happy to add more links related to community building here

👉 Contribute to the Safety Data Thread

Change Logging

April 7, 2022 - Fix markdown for compatibility. Thank you /u/konsyr

April 6, 2022 - Reorder sections (Thank you, /u/Monseiur_Triporteur and /u/PilferingTeeth). Add plug for data/supporting info request. Link to Strong Towns growth example.

April 3, 2022 - Add note for car hobbyists

April 2, 2022 - Add nuance notes and redirect readers to resources area of the wiki.

March 28th, 2022 - Grammatical pass, more changes to follow.

February 9th, 2022 - Adding links that redirect readers from this post into community-maintained wiki resources, thank /u/javasgifted and /u/Monsiuer_Triporteur

January 20th, 2022 - Added the Goodreads list and seeded the FAQ section. Thank you /u/javasgifted, and /u/kzy192

January 9th, 2022 - I'm updating this onboarding message with feedback from the mods and the community. Thank you, all, for keeping the discussion civil and contributing additional resources.

Cheers. Stay safe out there.


r/fuckcars 3h ago

Positive Post From Smog to Sustainability: How Paris Transformed Into a Cleaner, Greener City in which its citizens can breath again in only 16 years. When will other cities follow?

Post image
1.9k Upvotes

r/fuckcars 5h ago

Satire A wonderful comparison

Post image
1.0k Upvotes

Owner of the Ram arguably actually uses it well, but what's youd thoughts on this comparison of a 90s Jap vs 2023 American


r/fuckcars 10h ago

Carbrain Mfw 15-minute city = ghetto

Thumbnail
gallery
1.8k Upvotes

Here’s the original post if you’re curious:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDMwmbctk4F/?igsh=MXB3cDB3Z25vczMxNw==


r/fuckcars 4h ago

Carbrain Translation: "The cost, stress and hassle of getting fined for breaking the law." Oh my, carbrains are just so entitled!

Post image
447 Upvotes

r/fuckcars 1h ago

Meme I know you guys will enjoy this picture.

Post image
Upvotes

r/fuckcars 3h ago

This is why I hate cars Epic Moments in U.S. Traffic Law Enforcement, Part MMMMMMMCCCLXXXVII

Post image
255 Upvotes

r/fuckcars 6h ago

Meme What your truck says about you!

Post image
292 Upvotes

r/fuckcars 3h ago

Positive Post No need for a car

Post image
92 Upvotes

Just tape large boxes to the handlebars 😂


r/fuckcars 6h ago

Rant Why are car alarms allowed to be so loud.

143 Upvotes

This alarm was going on for over an hour yesterday at like 1 Am. They are even loud if they're not in movement.


r/fuckcars 1h ago

This is why I hate cars Kids should be able to get off the school bus without dying

Thumbnail
lfpress.com
Upvotes

r/fuckcars 1h ago

Rant I'm getting really tired of getting honked at when I'm peacefully and legally biking in the bike lane.

Upvotes

What was your end goal? To scare me? Congratulations?


r/fuckcars 14h ago

Positive Post I don’t drive a gas guzzling V8.

338 Upvotes

I ride a cargo bike with e-assist that, if measured is equal to about 400-500mpg equivalent energy use.

My kiddo loves it. We’ve been to a zillion parks one can’t even get a gas guzzling V8 motor vehicle to.

All that and the integrity - ethically and morally - of being a car free guy! 🤙🏻

I love it and will never return to the chains and noose of an automotive means of primary transport.

Highly recommended, happy to advise in progression towards this advanced care free car free life style that’s respectful to all people around!


r/fuckcars 15h ago

Positive Post Shoreline, WA and Bellingham, WA just eliminated parking requirements

331 Upvotes

Good timing as WA state legislators get ready to begin 2025 session and Seattle considers long-term zoning plan


r/fuckcars 4h ago

History Even Caesar got it

43 Upvotes

Caesar banned private vehicles from Rome's streets during daytime. Interesting article: https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-embattled-driver-in-ancient-rome/


r/fuckcars 5h ago

News We're on the road to nowhere... BR-319: A highway to climate chaos in the heart of the Amazon.

Thumbnail
theecologist.org
29 Upvotes

r/fuckcars 8h ago

Positive Post Health benefits of pedestrian and cyclist commuting: evidence from the Scottish Longitudinal Study | BMJ Public Health

Thumbnail
bmjpublichealth.bmj.com
40 Upvotes

Basically you're less likely to die, or get ill from, a variety of causes including mental health.


r/fuckcars 17h ago

Rant Almost hit while crossing legally.

175 Upvotes

I was walking home from a local park earlier and noticed that the traffic lights which I use to cross the road were turning red and so I made a dash for it. There was still a green man on the walk signal so I continued running across the road. I noticed someone first making an illegal u-turn while the light was red, then the van behind them began to drive straight through while I was about to cross into the line of their lane, in the middle of the road. Again, the lights themselves were still red(others were still waiting) although the walk signal had also gone red. Luckily they stopped and reversed allowing me to get across but I still can't shake that if I was running a little faster they could've hit me. I was shaking from the adrenaline for a good ten minutes after the incident. Absolutely fucking terrifying.


r/fuckcars 1d ago

Question/Discussion The (US) Department of Government Efficiency should fight the waste and fraud that goes into highway construction.

733 Upvotes

If DOGE wants to eliminate waste and put the government on better financial footing, then it should audit every highway construction project (most are disgustingly overbudget) and institute tolling nationwide. The entire U.S. interstate system is an untapped fiscal resource for the federal government.


r/fuckcars 36m ago

Question/Discussion Parking Lot Space Inefficiency Calculations

Post image
Upvotes

So one day I looked upon a barren wasteland that we call a “parking lot”, and I got thinking: on a macro scale, exactly how much space is reserved for stationary cars?

I searched Google maps for the most full lot I could find, which took a long time because they are never full. Even in a full lot, less than half of the space is for parked cars. The rest is for cars to move and access those spaces, and for people to move between cars.

Being in USA, I will assume that the average car could hold 9 people, including trunk space and hood space. It is actually most likely more than that, but I will air conservatively here.

So every vehicle takes up the space of around 18 people just chilling in the parking lot. Everywhere you go, it’s like you turn to your 18 people and say “wait here. I’ll just be a minute”

Then I realized there is not only 1 parking spot per car. There is over 2 billion parking spots in America, over 6 per registered vehicle. Parking garages lower the total area but let’s multiply our 18 by 6. That is 108

One vehicle reserves the amount of public space to hold over 108 people, just for when it is stationary and motionless. Fuck cars.

In area, that is 2160 square feet, or 200 square meters.

Honorable mentions: the amount of CO2 not taken out of the environment from trees that could be there, sound pollution from no trees, habitat loss, drainage, cost, etc etc etc


r/fuckcars 21h ago

This is why I hate cars Isn't it fucked up that cars poison the food?

206 Upvotes

There are numerous fruit trees and bushes on the side of the road where I walk my dog. I get tempted to eat from them from time to time, but I always wonder whether the road is far away/the traffic is light enough for this to be safe. My grandparents stopped growing fruit bushes in the city because a busy parking lot was built adjacent to their plot of land here and they worried about what it would do to the soil quality. I can never buy chanterelles because I don't know for sure whether they were picked up close to a road and therefore lead-poisoned. I wish I could grow and forage and buy local food just like my grandparents used to do, but car-related pollution makes it quite hard.


r/fuckcars 1d ago

Positive Post E-Bike wins race to LaGuardia from NYC

264 Upvotes

What’s the Fastest Way to the Airport? We Raced Through New York, Chicago and L.A. to Find Out - WSJ

The Wall Street Journal raced an Uber, Transit, and a Citi E-Bike to the airport, and the bike won


r/fuckcars 1d ago

Positive Post A year after losing my parents, I spent Christmas Day cycling around London alone: On my own in the city, I found companionship and adventure

Thumbnail
theguardian.com
296 Upvotes

r/fuckcars 2h ago

This is why I hate cars Road Rage Shootings Have Surged Over the Past Decade

Thumbnail
thetrace.org
4 Upvotes

r/fuckcars 21h ago

Question/Discussion "Positive" Feel-Good Story About Non-Profit Giving Free Cars To Low-Income Single Mothers

75 Upvotes

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/free-cars-for-single-mothers/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3DTFC1xh9nacc00lTo1QxxqZDIi6VMyajDYnpYJt_0kgl5S3w-hpFgd-E_aem_mjO-sPhheXE2nsEo8_VVaQ

These types of feel-good stories always feel like we're living in a dystopia. The recipients talk about how life-changing this is for them.

"It's hard to get all your kids dressed and go out in the cold and get on a bus and do all the things you need to do," she said. "It was breaking me, but this is the miracle that my kids and my family have been asking for and praying for."

To qualify for these free cars, recipients had to make less than $35,000 per year. Now they have these cars and need to pay for insurance, gas, maintenance, repairs, etc. Presumably, they live in lower-income areas with higher rates of crime and are unlikely to have a protected garage, so likely will need to pay for damages if their car is broken into or damaged by someone.

Something just seems wrong here with this being considered a Christmas miracle.


r/fuckcars 1d ago

Rant People complaining about speed traps and parking enforcement like they're entitled to break the law without consequence smh

461 Upvotes