It’s the symbol of freedom because kids in north America are locked up until they start to drive.
Since you can’t walk or cycle without risking your life, parents have to drive their kids everywhere until they are old enough to drive. This then is perceived as liberation.
Of course car centric infrastructure is the reason you need to be driven in order to be safe. It’s the product of decade long lobbying by the car industry.
I guess cars must feel like parole to kids who have been locked up.
I grew up in a place that was not even big on cycling, just not a hellscape like the US. We would go on crazy bike trips and barely find our way back home at like 14.
Some are. But unless they are in a truly rural area, that is just not true. According to recent numbers 80% of people in America live in urban areas.
Those urban areas, while often not designed for bicycles are a lot more frindly to bicycles then true rural areas. Saying kids are trapped untill they have a car wrong most of the time. Yeah they may have to bike or walk a few miles to get anywhere but that’s not a big deal.
The people living in true rural America truly do not have the ability to do so. But again, that’s less then a quarter of the populations and likely far less then a quarter of all kids.
We have a culture that prioritizes physical comfort above most other things. A car is more comfortable so that is what most people what to do.
The people living in true rural America truly do not have the ability to do so. But again, that’s less then a quarter of the populations and likely far less then a quarter of all kids.
Counterpoint: I lived in an extremely remote part of Vermont (population 400) for a couple years without a car, and I got around fine on my bike. The trick was living close to my work, which was easy since housing was dirt cheap. That said, getting out of town was difficult, as the buses (Greyhound) were notoriously unreliable. I also got random people buzzing me in pickups screaming at me for existing once in a while.
I have lived in urban, suburban, and very rural places. Rural is my favorite and most comfortable to commute on bike even if some things are a long ride away. The concept of what’s “too far away” is very different depending on whether you ask someone who is afraid to get on a bike, vs someone who actually rides.
It’s the symbol of freedom because kids in north America are locked up until they start to drive. Since you can’t walk or cycle without risking your life, parents have to drive their kids everywhere until they are old enough to drive. This then is perceived as liberation.
Of course car centric infrastructure is the reason you need to be driven in order to be safe. It’s the product of decade long lobbying by the car industry.
Freedom is not having to use cars. Having the choice to use cars or other methods of transportation.
Plus a car takes a bullet much better than a bike
Well I guess that’s another problem Europeans don’t have, but we’re not here to take your guns away!
I guess cars must feel like parole to kids who have been locked up.
I grew up in a place that was not even big on cycling, just not a hellscape like the US. We would go on crazy bike trips and barely find our way back home at like 14.
Plus a car takes a bullet much better than a bike
Some are. But unless they are in a truly rural area, that is just not true. According to recent numbers 80% of people in America live in urban areas.
Those urban areas, while often not designed for bicycles are a lot more frindly to bicycles then true rural areas. Saying kids are trapped untill they have a car wrong most of the time. Yeah they may have to bike or walk a few miles to get anywhere but that’s not a big deal.
The people living in true rural America truly do not have the ability to do so. But again, that’s less then a quarter of the populations and likely far less then a quarter of all kids.
We have a culture that prioritizes physical comfort above most other things. A car is more comfortable so that is what most people what to do.
Counterpoint: I lived in an extremely remote part of Vermont (population 400) for a couple years without a car, and I got around fine on my bike. The trick was living close to my work, which was easy since housing was dirt cheap. That said, getting out of town was difficult, as the buses (Greyhound) were notoriously unreliable. I also got random people buzzing me in pickups screaming at me for existing once in a while.
I have lived in urban, suburban, and very rural places. Rural is my favorite and most comfortable to commute on bike even if some things are a long ride away. The concept of what’s “too far away” is very different depending on whether you ask someone who is afraid to get on a bike, vs someone who actually rides.