Watching a thread unfold on another platform about parents' frustrations with their teenage children's anxiety around driving.
We helped create a world in which our kids are dependent on cars...a dependence that is their second leading cause of death, and that is rapidly destabilizing the planet they're inheriting from us.
We don't also get to be annoyed with them when they don't want any part of it.
@DrTCombs Last weekend, two patio tables over from us was a family with small children. A loud car, then a even louder Harley went by and the child's first reaction was "go away". The parent essentially told the child to put up with it, that it was rude to tell someone to go away or stop. Having just listened to a podcast about noise, we really should not have to put up with excessive noise like that. It's an uninvited intrusion. Cities aren't loud, cars (and motorcycles) are loud.
@DrTCombs I inherited a car as an 18th birthday gift in the US and, while I was not ungrateful, it was like golden shackles. I felt immense relief when I moved to a city where I didn't need to drive anymore! I now live in a 20 minute neighborhood in the suburbs of central Scotland where my kids hopefully won't *need* to drive either. It's not great, but it's better than where I grew up!
I’m a car enthusiast and driving just isn’t fun anymore. We’ve more or less hit the ceiling for efficiency while rising demand for safety is making cars bigger and (rightly) taking control away from drivers. Automakers are coping by pushing trucks, which have higher profit margins and significantly lower safety/efficiency standards. Meanwhile the late adopters, encouraged by a car-centric economy and infrastructure, have become dangerously militant. It’s over.
@DrTCombs my 16 year old daughter has no interest in driving, she just wants to be able to do it, which I respect. Lucky to be able to live somewhere it's not a necessity