Right of Way
The War on Cars
The War on Cars, LLC
4.9 • 937 Ratings
🗓️ 11 September 2020
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Angie Schmitt has long been one of the clearest and most passionate voices out there talking about the real price of automobile dependence in the United States. As the national editor for Streetsblog, Angie reported for years about how we design our communities to accommodate cars at the expense of human beings. Now, Angie has a book out. It's called Right of Way: Race, Class, and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America. In it, she gives a compelling analysis of why more pedestrians are dying on American streets now than at any time since the 1990s. We talked with her about the nation's toxic mix of big vehicles, cheap gas, and utter disregard for human lives — especially when those lives belong to poor people, people of color, people without housing, older people, and people with disabilities.
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SHOW NOTES:
Follow Angie on Twitter @schmangee
This episode was produced by Sarah Goodyear and edited by Ali Lemer. Our music is by Nathaniel Goodyear. Our logo is by Dani Finkel of Crucial D Design.
Find us on Twitter: @TheWarOnCars, Aaron Naparstek @Naparstek, Doug Gordon @BrooklynSpoke, Sarah Goodyear @buttermilk1.
Questions, comments or suggestions? Shoot us an email: thewaroncars@gmail.com
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, this is Aaron here to let you know that this episode of the War on Cars is sponsored by |
| 0:06.4 | Cleverhood. Cleverhood makes raincapes designed specifically for people who bike and walk. I've been wearing clever hoods for years. |
| 0:15.2 | I'm a huge fan. If I am biking or walking the dog and it is raining, I am wearing a clever hood. |
| 0:27.3 | And you can too, starting today and for a limited time only, listeners of the war on cars will receive a 20% discount on every product in the Cleverhood store. To get that discount, go to |
| 0:36.8 | cleverhood.com slash war on cars and when you check out, enter coupon code war on cars, one word. |
| 0:46.0 | Again, for 20% off on some really nice rain gear, go to cleverhood.com slash war on cars enter coupon code war on cars when you |
| 0:57.0 | check out stay safe and dry when you walk and bike wear a cleverhood. Thanks for listening and enjoy the episode. |
| 1:09.5 | Does the fact that our whole lifestyle is sort of predicated on a lot of people dining car |
| 1:16.0 | racks desensitize us to other forms of you know violence or you know mass violence or, you know, mass death. |
| 1:24.0 | Or are we just, is there something about the United States |
| 1:27.3 | that's just a little bit callous about that culturally. Welcome to the War on Cars. |
| 1:36.0 | I'm Sarah Goodyear. |
| 1:38.0 | Angie Schmidt has long been one of the clearest and most passionate voices out there |
| 1:42.0 | talking about the real price of automobile |
| 1:44.9 | dependence in the United States. |
| 1:47.7 | As the National Editor for Streets blog, Andrew reported for years about how we design our communities to accommodate cars at the expense of human beings. |
| 1:57.0 | Now Angie has a book out. It's called Right of Way, Race, Class, and the silent epidemic of pedestrian deaths in America. |
| 2:06.2 | In it, she gives a compelling analysis of why more pedestrians are dying on American streets |
| 2:10.8 | now than at any time since the 1990s. The death rate for people |
| 2:16.0 | on foot has risen steadily in recent years, even as fatality rates for people |
| 2:20.9 | inside vehicles have stayed flat. In 2018 alone, 6,283 pedestrians |
| 2:28.5 | were killed by drivers in the United States. Angie's book details a toxic mix of big vehicles, cheap gas, and utter disregard for human lives, |
... |
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