Crazy Gas Prices

huboon

Afraid I may be more like you than you realize (I am a bicyclist btw). I also grin when I think about the effect on gas guzzlers (again, I am a cyclist who drives a '92 Nissan pickup -- is that too pampered by your utilitarian standard?) but I find it a hollow satisfaction that doesn't match the frustration of Big Oil raking in record profits.

alienator

Hooooooweeeee! You sure got me with that one. Alas, I don't need a car or truck to get my dick hard. My condolences to you on that count.

velo711

Yeah alienator nailed it, at least he calls a spade a spade. There are two lanes on the hiway, one for doing the speed limit, the other for those in a hurry. Mostly the fast lane is filled with land barges and jacked up 4x4s whose ground clearance for some reason seems to be directly proportional to the IQ of the driver.

BimmsAndBices

I always find it funny when my fellow Americans complain about $3 gas. Yeah, try Europe. Sure would like one of their sub-1 liter cars over here. Another thing that amuses me is people who use low quality, high sulfer, low lubricant petroleum diesel in their veggy burners. Whatever.

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stlblues

I don't have a choice of driving a truck, I'm a contractor and have to have a truck to move materials and tools, I need 4 wheel drive to get in and out of job sites, its stock height though, but I cant use a Prius or work, and gas prices are a major problem. We traded my wifes SUV for a minivan, 27mpg hwy 20 city, three years ago when prices started up. I also drive an Accord and a motorcycle when I don't need the truck. Our town is very unfriendly to bikes, not just a lack of shoulders and lane width, but extremely hilly, and people gunning to hit you . We usually go to the Katy trail to ride or there is a green way that runs through part of the town, but it is limited in its scope for transportation purpose, It was designed for excercise, not as an alternative to other types of transporation. There are a few buses that run very limited routes and shut down at 6pm and don't run weekends or bad weather, which we get a fair amount. And due to the hills, when we get snow and ice, if you don't have at least on 4x4, you can't get out to work. I have to take my wife to work now and pick her up during winter weather. During one storm last year, it took the street crews 4 days to clear side streets, if it wasnt for my truck, we couldn't have gotten out. In many places like the southern states, there is NO reason for SUVs, but for the central and northern states, they are essential. So gas prices do have an impact. We have combined trips, cut back on speed, stopped eating out almost completely (which effects the economy), cut back on vacations, and bike riding since we have to drive to a place to ride safely.

limerickman

I would have thought that successive goverments in the USA would have made it a priority to develope public transports systems, given the disparsity
of populations/towns across the country.
It would make sense to connect all the major cities using rail connection - this would provide an alternative to car/plane travel and it would ensure
lower fuel consumption/CO emmissions.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

TheDarkLord

It is a question of culture I think. I know Americans who drive to work even though there is excellent public transportation between their home and work just for the sake of convenience and not having to adhere to bus schedules - never mind that you are fleeced for the parking permit, pay more for gas, etc. And I know singles who own gas guzzling SUVs. If you check opinions of many people in Texas, they view SUVs as a "necessary evil that is worth it". Since it is very difficult to change the underlying culture, I don't expect things to change anytime soon.

limerickman

Yeah, I agree to a point.

But cultural/societal behaviour can and does change, if the gov, wants it to change.

Over here, the goverment (correctly) decided that disposable plastic bags were an environmental problem (they're not bio degradable, they're a pollutant).

So they levied a tax on the purchase of disposable plastic bags - plastic bag sales have dropped.
They did the same with banning smoking in public places (pubs/restuarants).
Cleverly they enacted legislation stating that because public places - like pubs/restaurants - can/do employ people, that under health and safety, legislation was to be enacted to "protect the health of the worker".
Cigarette sales have fallen.........and the employees of pubs/restaurants get to work in a more pleasant (less smokey) workplace.

The amount of opposition to this legislation was huge -restaurant/pub owners
said that their business "would be destroyed....... the social upheaval would be traumatic.......you can't expect people to give up the habit of a lifetime".
All manner of excuses were used to try to postpone/stop this legisation.

My point is - that if the US goverment really wanted to take on CO emmission issue.......it would enact policies which would encourage use of public transport and discourage private car usage, by developing public transport linkage.

__________________
.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

TheDarkLord

I agree with you Lim. But the officials in the US government have links to the oil industry and would rather that things stay the way they are. You can see the way in which the current administration has procrastinated when it comes to improving fuel economy of vehicles (or doing anything good for the environment for that matter), or downright tampered with scientific reports to suit its view on climate change (and in some cases intimidated scientists from giving public interviews). Yes, if the government wants to, it can change things, but this government doesn't want to do anything about it.

Eden

A lot of Americans have been brainwashed into thinking that bigger = safer. If you want to protect yourself against the maniac drivers you must have the biggest SUV available so that you can outweigh what ever hits you....
but it's actually quite untrue - a well designed car can protect you even if it is small, and in fact cars in general are safer than their larger counterparts.

This little table was on a web site about debunking the "cycling is really dangerous" myth it's the odds of death vs injury in an accident by vehicle

Bus 1 in 1000
Car, Station Wagon 1 in 108
Pickup, SUV, Van 1 in 75
Bicycle 1 in 71
Large Truck 1 in 43
Motorcycle, Motorbike 1 in 26
On Foot 1 in 15

as you can see an accident in a truck or SUV is only a little less dangerous than a cycling accident....

TheDarkLord

Wow regarding the odds of injury for pedestrians!

Eden

It's worse.... that's the odds that you will die, instead of being injured. Being hit by a car if you are on foot is bad news...

TheDarkLord

So, the odds quoted are those of death vs injury if hit by a vehicle (as opposed to overall odds of injury/death in that mode of transportation)?

roundandround

I heard about the gas prices in Europe and you all are paying some crazy amounts. I know alot of people in Los Angeles complain because taking the public transportation is seen as low around here. Unlike in New York were everyone rich and poor taking public transportation or cabs. I've been catching buses and trains for a while to get around and laugh at people who have to pay for gas. I need a car because I've been traveling a loooong distances lately and need to make it easy for myself until my schedule calms down.