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David Zipper
@DavidZipper
Visiting Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, focused on mobility, cities & tech. Words in etc. Newsletter & speaking: davidzipper.com
David Zipper’s Tweets
. claims we need "further research" before and can protect pedestrians from recklessly designed cars.
I call bullshit.
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This week @USDOT's @SecretaryPete was asked about the danger that oversized SUVs and trucks pose to pedestrians. He punted, claiming we need “further research.”
That’s simply untrue. Here’s a 
explaining why.
fastcompany.com/90841997/this-
explaining why.
fastcompany.com/90841997/this-Show this thread
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Thinking to yourself, "Surely that thing is illegal b/c it's so dangerous for pedestriansl"?
Fun fact: That's impossible in the USA!
The feds have created zero -- zero -- vehicle design rules related to pedestrian safety.
Why is that? Great question for .
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For those wondering whether cars erode civil society, I offer you the Rezvani Vengeance, the "world's most aggressive SUV."
"Owners will be able to purchase bulletproof vests, helmets and gas masks along with the car."
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And please don't tell me that future autonomous vehicle trips will be shared, making them less polluting.
How often do you share ride hail trips with strangers? Do you enjoy it?
As I explained before in , most people want their own private ride.
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Beyond emissions from their onboard computers, self-driving cars wil also lead to much more driving. further increasing emissions.
Those who claim autonomous vehicles are a climate solution are deluding themselves -- or they're lying.
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As I told , e-bike rebates are gaining popularity w/gov officials wary of cars:
"Attention [comes] from the states and cities where leaders are particularly concerned about climate change, and rather dubious about...autocentric urban areas.”
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Less driving is good, reason 10,387.
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New study of Norway makes an important point about road safety:
"Traffic volume has consistently had the strongest association with the number of accidents."
Implication: Less driving (i.e., better transit service, denser cities, etc) 
Fewer crashes
doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.
Fewer crashes
doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.Show this thread
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Reminder that Congress chose to give Americans $7,500 off “performance” e-SUVs costing $80,00 — but nothing toward an e-bike or e-cargo bike.
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It looks like the EV tax credit guidelines from the IRS have been updated to raise the cap on ALL Model Y vehicles to $80,000. $TSLA
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"Less driving" is the Occam's Razor strategy for improving traffic safety
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New study of Norway makes an important point about road safety:
"Traffic volume has consistently had the strongest association with the number of accidents."
Implication: Less driving (i.e., better transit service, denser cities, etc) ➡️ Fewer crashes
doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.
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Seems bad:
"With a mass global takeup of autonomous vehicles, the powerful onboard computers needed to run them could generate as many greenhouse gas emissions as all the data centres in operation today... equivalent to the entire output of Argentina."
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Two years ago today, Molly Steinsapir, 12, was in an horrible e-bike crash. She didn't survive. This is the story of her life and death. The piece raises tough questions about the safety and regulation of low-priced e-bikes. Below: Molly and her mom, Kaye.
bicycling.com/culture/a42690
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This is awesome:
Boston will now cover 100% of the cost of city employees' bikeshare memberships and 65% of the cost of transit passes.
Employees don't have to choose -- they can take advantage of both. 17,500 workers are eligible.
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This is one of the many things that politicians, whatever their party, are not permitted to speak about honestly.
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This week @USDOT's @SecretaryPete was asked about the danger that oversized SUVs and trucks pose to pedestrians. He punted, claiming we need “further research.”
That’s simply untrue. Here’s a explaining why.
fastcompany.com/90841997/this-
explaining why.
fastcompany.com/90841997/this-Show this thread
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Regardless, USDOT is now hiding behind empty calls for “research” when its leaders know full well that enormous trucks and SUVs have helped push pedestrian deaths to a 40-year high.
They’re simply dodging the issue.
ghsa.org/resources/Pede
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Is politics involved? Of course.
Here’s Biden promoting the 4.5-ton Hummer EV earlier this week (BTW it’s too expensive for an EV tax credit).
If this tweet made USDOT wince, they should help the White House understand why.
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On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.
And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle.
read image description
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Even if USDOT remains unconvinced, the agency could still add pedestrian crashworthiness tests to NCAP, the crash test ratings program. Europe did this decades ago.
If a Hummer somehow, miraculously, proves harmless to pedestrians, give it 5 stars!
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It’s intuitive why big SUVs and trucks are deadly to people walking:
-Taller cars create bigger blind spots
-Higher front ends mean crashes are absorbed by torsos -- not legs
-Heavier weight generates more force in a collision
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Here’s another study, from economist , which found that the shift from sedans to SUVs led to ~1,100 additional pedestrian deaths in the US from 2000 to 2019.
doi.org/10.1016/j.ecot
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Here’s the study that USDOT cited in its National Roadway Safety Strategy.
Looks like research to me!
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These calls for research ring hollow.
Check out USDOT’s own National Roadway Safety Strategy (2022):
transportation.gov/nrss/usdot-nat
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This is not the first time SecPete ducked when challenged about giant SUVs/trucks. He did it a year ago, when I interviewed him in : slate.com/business/2022/
execs and spox have also said we need more data before acting against truck bloat.
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This week 's was asked about the danger that oversized SUVs and trucks pose to pedestrians. He punted, claiming we need “further research.”
That’s simply untrue. Here’s a 🧵 explaining why.
fastcompany.com/90841997/this-
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New mapping tool shows fatal crashes from 2016 to 2020, along with info including # of deaths, time of day, and Google Street View.
Try it for yourself: storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/9e0e6b
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It seems President Biden does not share my concerns about truck bloat
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On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.
And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle.
read image description
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ICYMI, in I explored how we can fight back against truck bloat.
Answer: By imposing weight-based car fees that apply to EVs as well as gas guzzlers.
Norway and the District of Columbia are leading the way.
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. delves into journalism's role reducing car crashes.
Until talking w/ , I didn't know the hosts programming to help global journalists consider crash factors like road and vehicle design (which is a good idea for US journalists too).
cjr.org/the_media_toda
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Looks like it's the end of the road for Navya, maker of low-speed autonomous shuttles: itsinternational.com/its4/news/navy
AV shuttles were all the rage a few years ago, but I've never understood their use case.
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Why isn't he promoting e-bikes?
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Replying to @DavidZipper and @Slate
Why isn’t Biden promoting the Bolt?
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Wow. Denver's new batch of e-bike vouchers were apparently exhausted within 30 minutes today.
I understand there were ~860 up for grabs.
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Thank you, Denver, for your enthusiasm to make the switch to e-bikes! Applications for January are now closed. The next release date for e-bikes rebates is Tuesday, March 28 at 11 a.m. Get notifications on this program by subscribing to our newsletter: mailchi.mp/mailchimp.denv
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Seems bad:
"Firefighters at the scene stood in front of the car to try to get it to stop, but the autonomous vehicle came to a halt only after one of them smashed the Cruise car's window amid the chaotic effort to put out a fire that displaced 25 people."
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Biden keeps promoting the 9,083-lb Hummer EV, but I think we should tax the hell out of it.
My new article in :
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Biden may want to celebrate the goliath-like Hummer EV, but I think we should tax the hell out of it.
My new article in ⤵️
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Biden and may have their heads in the sand, but DC and Norway show that it's possible to fight back against car bloat.
We need weight-based fees for *all* vehicles -- regardless of how they're powered.
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Federal leaders, however, keep ignoring the dangers of massive cars.
Ex: Yesterday Biden tweeted a pic of himself driving a 4.5-ton Hummer EV so inefficient that it pollutes more per mile than some *gas-powered* sedans.
Source: aceee.org/blog-post/2022
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On my watch, the great American road trip is going to be fully electrified.
And now, through a tax credit, you can get up to $7,500 on a new electric vehicle.
read image description
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Weight-based car fees can work in the US too. The District of Columbia now charges $500/year to register a huge car, ~7x more than a small sedan.
EV owners get a 1000-lb “credit” – but they still have to pay.
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A solution: fees that scale w/vehicle weight
By forcing buyers to consider the societal impact of their car, they push the market away from the most destructive models.
As of this month, Norway applies weight-based fees on *all* cars – including EVs.
thelocal.no/20221227/what-
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Oversized SUVs/trucks don’t emit tailpipe emissions, but they’re still terrible:
🔹 Hefty batteries make them heavier/deadlier (while consuming more power)
🔹 They hog scarce battery material that could otherwise electrify additional (smaller) vehicles
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80% of new US car sales are now trucks or SUVs (which are themselves expanding). Why is that bad?
🔹 Deadly for those outside the car (big blind spots + more force in a crash)
🔹 Inefficient & polluting (heavier cars use more fuel ➡️ more emissions)
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