The newly-passed infrastructure bill could bring major - and very positive - changes to auto safety.
Example: The bill requires that autos be equipped with tech to detect when the driver is drunk (and prevent them from driving). The alcohol industry fought this hard.
[cont'd]
The bill also pushes USDOT to (finally!) update the New Car Assessment Program (crash test dummy program), to evaluate the risk that car models pose to pedestrians and cyclists -- who are currently completely ignored.
Minimum performance standards for Advanced Driving Assistance Systems, addressing the wide (and confusing) disparities in what these systems can do right now.
And something that should worry Tesla:
An explicit focus on driver monitoring systems, including examination of "foreseeable misuse" of ADAS systems (ahem, Autopilot).
For context, this article explains how passive alcohol detection systems work. Also some stuff here about driver monitoring systems.
I wrote it a year ago, and frankly I'm stunned to see this much progress on auto safety tech in a single bill. bloomberg.com/news/features/…
And here's more info about the NCAP program, which -as Congressional Dems recognize - is in dire need of an overhaul. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
More good stuff for cyclists and pedestrians:
The infrastructure bill instructs USDOT to conduct research "focused on incorporating bicyclists and other vulnerable road users into the safe deployment of connected vehicle systems."
To be more specific, the American Beverage Institute lobbied hard against the infra bill's alcohol detection provision.
Also, much of the auto industry wanted this tech to be optional instead of mandatory on new cars, which would've defeated its purpose.
Strange but true:
The infra bill instructs USDOT to add pedestrian and cyclist safety to NCAP crash ratings.
Meanwhile, Build Back Better would incentivize heavy, tall e-trucks and SUVs ($80k cap for a $12.5k rebate) over safer sedans ($55k cap).
Fifty years ago, William Whyte studied how New Yorkers schmoozed, sat, and relaxed the small open spaces available to them. This 1980 treasure was the result.
Join me as I share a few timeless lessons. 🧵
A key urbanist insight: “Supply creates demand.”
Comfortable urban spaces attract people happy to find a place to chat, eat, or read.
It's also the core idea behind induced demand, which explains why highway widening is futile (and why good bike lanes create more riders).
Whyte and his team meticulously gathered data about how people used plazas, sidewalks, and ledges, sharing metrics about everything from the optimal bench depth to the natural distribution of people sitting.
Here’s a table of people using the Seagram Building's plaza.
Oversized SUVs and trucks kill people in crashes, catalyze climate change, and widen inequality. And the problem is getting worse.
A 🧵 about my deep dive on car bloat, in @Slate
@Slate “Car bloat” describes the shift in new car sales toward increasingly massive SUVs and trucks.
In 1977, SUVs and trucks comprised 23% of US car sales. Now they are over 80% -- and individual models keep adding weight and height.
@Slate The SUV trend began in the 1970s, when the American Motors Corp repositioned the military Jeep for the mass market.
AMC hyped features like 4-wheel drive that were largely useless in the suburbs, but its pitch worked. The Jeep was a hit, and other carmakers followed suit.
It's involved in 12k+ crash deaths per year in the US, around 1/3 of all fatalities. Many involve truly reckless speeding, with drivers going 20+ mph over the limit.