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Comment by skapadia | Hacker News Reader

Would you be okay with a drunk driver killing one of your family members? What if that could be prevented with tech like this? Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep people safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

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Freedom is the notion that it is more important to protect the innocent than to punish the guilty. The burden of proof falls to those who would abrogate our liberty, to show beyond a shadow of doubt that their measures will be effective and worthwhile. The standard of evidence must be higher than "I think it'll work!" Prove that it will really prevent those deaths before you get a second word.

By your rationale why don’t you give up cars? If you care for your loved ones so much, Han them from using cars.

Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep your family safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

Because in this country the options are

1. Buy a car because it’s required in order to literally feed yourself, or

2. Live in one of the highly desirable, expensive pre-war neighborhoods that remain walkable

Many Americans can’t just “give up cars” even if they wanted to. Car dependency is literally codified in out zoning and street building (MUTCD)

Maybe if car dependency wasn’t such a requirement in order to live, maybe if everyone could easily walk to the bar, we wouldn’t need alcohol detection in cars.

> Maybe if car dependency wasn’t such a requirement in order to live, maybe if everyone could easily walk to the bar, we wouldn’t need alcohol detection in cars.

This is the goal that is worth spending political action on, not snake oil remedies designed only to advance the careers of politicians peddling them.

>Buy a car because it’s required in order to literally feed yourself

One doesn't eat a car, nor need a car. It sure is nice to have but other options exists for most trips. An electric bicycle makes it easy to go anywhere needed. Even a non electric bicycle can go a great distance.

On the other hand I just looked up the average commute to work distance and it is way higher than I would have though, 27.6miles [1] Still a long distance but not too long for an ebike.

[1] https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/one-way-...

I usually WFH, but that's about the distance to my job if I take the highway, where bikes aren't allowed. If I were to go using side streets it would easily be double that.

Wouldn't be looking forward to a 50 mile ebike commute!

Truly what a self-indulgent, privileged comment from someone who evidently doesn't share the lives, practical needs or economic circumstances of millions of people who truly, really, fucking absolutely need cars for their daily living needs. Oh hey.. Let's flippantly recommend an "ebike"... Because of course that's the perfect solution for all the ranchers, farmers, far-suburban residents and millions of people who live in neighborhoods and cities where public transit and bikes are absurdly impractical for the jobs they need to do each day to pay the bills.

Truly, some of the people on HN are incredible at taking their own little bubbles of life and just cluelessly extrapolating them outward to any situation without a single pause. It's laughable.

Let us ignore the huge cost saving brought on by truck-trailers.

We cannot imagine a fleet of electric bike pulling one truck-trailer, in the spirit of slaves pulling blocks toward an Egyptian pyramid.

Come on, even the Amish drive cars.

> Does your personal liberty outweigh the need to keep people safe from tons of metal hurtling at them at insane speeds?

I don't see why not, as the US was founded on the principle behind this.

Many americans would rather that whole swaths of the population, including their own family members, die painfully then wear a mask in a grocery store.

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