The View from Two Wheels

Today I almost got hit by a car. However, that does not make this day unique, as every day presents me the opportunity to be crushed by a veritable tank, poorly disguised as a mode of transportation.  Me, after almost getting hit by a truck As I make my way through the world here in Virginia Beach, I am somewhat taken aback by the sheer size of the vehicles on the road. When I got back from the Netherlands a few months ago it was the first thing I noticed on the ride back from the airport. The vehicles in the U.S are simply massive-- and only getting bigger. SUVs have been marketed as "safe" family vehicles, capable of all that hauling and off-roading that Americans do on a daily basis (or so the car ads would have you believe). The safety feature that car companies tout is in fact simply the ability to crush any obstacle that comes into its path. The safety feature is the armor that the car supplies to its inhabitants in a crash. What these companies never talk about, howeve...

I arrived in Virginia Beach one week ago, and since then I have spent every day in a state of appalled apprehension. Throughout my time studying urban planning, I heard tales of mythical lands where everyone drives, and movement without a 3,000 pound metal cage is near impossible. I have even driven through them on occasion. But never in my life have I experienced living in one of these impractical and foreboding places.  You might be wondering, "why have you decided to move to such a place Abby?" No, it is not so I can learn from the epitope of car-centered design, although I am already doing so. I came here for a job as a transportation analyst, and I am not ashamed to admit that I was indeed ignorant of the full scale of the situation here when I agreed to take the position.  Intersection on my regular bike commute The past few years I have been happily living my car-free life, using my bike and public transit for basic transportation needs. I find that it makes me happier...