Why don't more women ride? from Seattle's Publicola
I feel terrible that writer Josh Cohen has sold his fixie, but I read the piece anyway. Interesting article, fascinating comments. Worthwhile, I'd say....
Why stop with women riders? Let's encourage EVERYONE to ride more. How about raising gasoline taxes to $3 a gallon - that would convince a lot of people to let their children walk / bike to school and get more folks on public transportation.
Most children get driven to school because their parents (mostly mothers) are afraid of a stranger kidnapping. This happens SO rarely it makes national news. The odds of your child being kidnapped by a stranger - well over one in one-million.
The odds of your child being killed in an auto accident - today? How about one in seventy-eight thousand.
Debra, I love you! Three dollar a gallon tax on gas would put us on a par with the Europeans, and would do amazing things for the country, besides getting people on bicycles. Global warming significantly reduced. Traffic jams significantly reduced. Health of American kids significantly increased. US budget closer to balanced. What's not to like? Oil company profits reduced. Ahhh, too bad!
Why don't more women drive racing cars? Same reason they don't ride bicycles -- it's a sport/activity dominated by men. As to using a bike instead of a car, the security issue is important. A woman alone in a car feels much more secure with the doors locked around her along with the ability to (at least in theory) speed away from any dicey situation. If men were more friendly and accepting of women riders and riding a bike in US cities were safer, more of them would ride.
3 comments:
Why stop with women riders? Let's encourage EVERYONE to ride more. How about raising gasoline taxes to $3 a gallon - that would convince a lot of people to let their children walk / bike to school and get more folks on public transportation.
Most children get driven to school because their parents (mostly mothers) are afraid of a stranger kidnapping. This happens SO rarely it makes national news. The odds of your child being kidnapped by a stranger - well over one in one-million.
The odds of your child being killed in an auto accident - today? How about one in seventy-eight thousand.
Don't believe me? Look at the stats.
Debra, I love you! Three dollar a gallon tax on gas would put us on a par with the Europeans, and would do amazing things for the country, besides getting people on bicycles. Global warming significantly reduced. Traffic jams significantly reduced. Health of American kids significantly increased. US budget closer to balanced. What's not to like? Oil company profits reduced. Ahhh, too bad!
Why don't more women drive racing cars? Same reason they don't ride bicycles -- it's a sport/activity dominated by men. As to using a bike instead of a car, the security issue is important. A woman alone in a car feels much more secure with the doors locked around her along with the ability to (at least in theory) speed away from any dicey situation. If men were more friendly and accepting of women riders and riding a bike in US cities were safer, more of them would ride.
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