CRASH - Coalition to Reduce Auto Size Hazards

"even if every pick-up driver were moving boulders, heavy machinery or plywood around the city, that wouldn’t explain the trucks’ problematic front-end design. The growing height of front-ends is more about sales than utility." - @albertkoehl.bsky.social

#onpoli #oversizeddanger

Book cover Wheeling Through Toronto A History of the Bicycle and Its Riders by Albert Koehl University of Toronto Press

Looking for a present for the cyclist on your holiday shopping list? How about my friend @albertkoehl.bsky.social's "Wheeling through Toronto, A History of the Bicycle and Its Riders"? Not convinced? You can read some reviews here. #BikeTO #TOpoli #VisionZero www.albertkoehl.ca/wheeling-thr...

Agreed. Since pickups are more dangerous, drivers should be required to have more safety training and expertise. This is among our recommendations to provinces.

Shawn Micallef: This truck ad shows why Toronto needs smaller vehicles — if only the carmakers wanted to sell them A car comically overloaded with plywood? It’s a good ad for a pickup — but also a sign of the incredible amount of money, weight and energy being wasted on

"Space is precious, and so is safety. Just as the oil crisis created a market for smaller vehicles in the 1970s, it’s time to demand automakers return to providing vehicles appropriate for jam-packed cities."

Well said @shawnmicallef.bsky.social

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Pickups are seven times more likely than a car to kill a child on foot that is struck! What else do we need to know? Federal, provincial + local govts all have a role to play in addressing the oversized dangers from pickups. windsorlawcities.ca/wp-content/u...

Shawn Micallef: This truck ad shows why Toronto needs smaller vehicles — if only the carmakers wanted to sell them A car comically overloaded with plywood? It’s a good ad for a pickup — but also a sign of the incredible amount of money, weight and energy being wasted on

Let’s talk about the size of trucks & SUVs in the city. My column on the virtue & status signalling of vehicle bloat.

One of the three trucks in this picture can Carry full size sheets of plywood.

Today is "Murray Pound Day." Murray was a senior Etobicoke planner who proposed 160-km of bicycle freeways! Ring your bells for Murray. (From the Toronto Star, Nov 28, 1964) #biketo #onpoli

Stop wasting money on pipelines. Give us real nation-building projects This week’s agreement between Ottawa and Alberta on a pipeline to B.C.’s north coast is the latest chapter in this weird, depressing tale of wasting tens of billions of dollars

The headline says it all ...

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Vehicles with big blind zones spell danger to pedestrians during left turns A large driver-side blind zone raises the risk of striking a pedestrian during a left turn by 70%, a new IIHS study shows.

New study finds that "vehicles with large driver-side blind zones are much more likely to strike crossing pedestrians while turning left."

Which vehicles have big driver-side blind zones? Those with thick A-pillars, bulky side mirrors, and tall hoods—i.e., big SUVs and trucks.

Ottawa, Alberta close to deal that includes oil pipeline to B.C. coast, sources say Privy Council Clerk Sabia playing key role in brokering accord that would involve tanker ban exemption

An oil pipeline to be built during a climate crisis?? Say it ain't so @mark-carney.bsky.social !

www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...

Last call to register for Sunday's 50km ride along PART of the Toronto Loop. Ride starts 10am (Nov16) at Fix Coffee+Bikes in The Well (Front St at Spadina). Learn the history of a route that's 50yrs in the making! To register, email: community.bikeways.Toronto@gmail.com #biketo

Fantastic read on the history of cycling in Toronto.

Subways down, sitting on a shuttle bus. Reading @albertkoehl.bsky.social book.

If ur a fan of Toronto history, this is great dive into cycling in the city.

Side note, can we retire the word cyclist & bring back the term Wheelmen? So much better

#cycleTO @cycletoronto.bsky.social #bookTO #Toronto

Sunday (Nov16) forecast for Closing the Loop ride: 10C. Join us for 50km ride along part of Loop, as part of campaign to close remaining gaps along larger route. Meet 10am, The Well, Front & Spadina. In front of Fix Coffee + Bikes. Email us to register: community.bikeways.Toronto@gmail.com #biketo

Chart showing pedestrian deaths at their highest point since the early 90s

The Lexus ad where they show a family over the years & their car goes from a reasonable sedan to a bloated SUV with oversized hood by the end.

It accidentally tells the story of why pedestrian fatalities have been rising.

Safest place for a pickup...is in a cargobike. At EcoFair we asked people to write to new Transport Minister @stevenmackinnon.bsky.social to require safety warnings on pickup ads + for auto-makers to re-design deadly vehicle front-ends. Seven x more likely to kill a child in crash. #oversizeddanger

Gotta appreciate that they are pricing by size.

Former Ontario police leaders urge Doug Ford government to ditch plan to ban speed cameras The Ford government is expected to table legislation banning automated speed cameras in Ontario.

Retired Police Chiefs from Peel, Halton, Niagara, Ottawa + beyond say that speed cameras, introduced by Ford’s govt in 2019, are:

“highly effective at changing dangerous driving behaviours and reducing collisions and serious injuries at problem locations.”

#onpoli

www.thestar.com/news/gta/for...

AAA: Nighttime Safety Improved with Pedestrian Detection Effective Rates Rising from 0% to 60% Media B-Roll ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 15, 2025) – AAA evaluated vehicles equipped with pedestrian automatic emergency braking (PAEB) systems, building on

New AAA study finds that pedestrian detection systems are only 60% effective at night (which is when most pedestrians are struck).

Lesson: Car tech will not "solve" the crisis in US pedestrian safety. Addressing car bloat, deadly street design, etc is also necessary.

Speed Cameras Save Lives!

This morning's rally --- part of provincial Day of Action --- in front of Wm Burgess Elementary School on Pape Ave, Toronto.

#onpoli

Four-panel cartoon. First panel illustrates that front-end accidents involving trucks have more than doubled since 2008, and says 10 children fit into the blind zone of an F-150 pickup. Second panel jokingly suggests we need taller children, thus it is time for stilts to be used by them. Third panel says adult pedestrians also should meet height requirements, and might be cited by the police for being too short and not visible to drivers. Fourth panel, a man says: "Maybe we should try regulating vehicle sizes?" Reply from another man: "Are you kidding? That would be ridiculous!"

I often go on long walks around my neighborhood for exercise. And I often see ridiculously huge trucks or SUVs parked on the street.
These monstrosities are not only ugly, they're also extremely dangerous.
But fortunately, Jen Sorens
https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/113141851423423502

'Horrible piece of legislation': Ontario parents to rally against speed camera ban Several parent groups against a looming speed camera ban in Ontario are holding a provincial day of action on Monday as MPPs return to Queen's Park

"Parent groups in Toronto, Vaughan, Midland, Kitchener-Waterloo and Ottawa are holding demonstration events Monday morning, while another group held a protest in Toronto's east end on Saturday."

#OnPoli

Speed cameras save lives. Do we really need more reason to keep them? Speed cameras are not about increasing government revenue, they’re about changing behaviour and saving lives.

"Speed cameras are not about increasing government revenue, they’re about changing behaviour and saving lives." #onpoli

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Matt Elliott: Without acknowledging hard truths, Toronto’s traffic czar isn’t likely to get very far It’s probably good that this new position will come with a handsome salary because this traffic czar will be given an impossible task. There’s no solving Toronto traffic, writes Matt Elliott.

The plain truth:

"There are too many cars + not enough roads. Absent a radical reform like a congestion charge similar to NYC — where a price on driving causes people to look to alternatives — there’s no way to reverse the trend." Right on @graphicmatt.com #onpoli

www.thestar.com/opinion/star...

Parkside Drive speed camera records drivers going as fast as 154 km/h, says new data The 10 highest speeds recorded by the speed camera on Parkside Drive were over 100 kilometres per hour, according to a freedom of information request (FOI) filed by Safe Parkside

"A driver going 154 kilometres per hour topped a list of the highest speeds recorded by the Parkside Drive speed camera, according to a freedom of information request (FOI) filed by community advocacy group Safe Parkside."

www.torontotoday.ca/local/transp...

MONDAY, Oct 20, 8am, Day of Action to Save our Speed Cameras.

In Toronto:

West – Perth Park, SW entrance (near Dupont + Perth). www.facebook.com/events/75583....

East – Pape Ave + Torrens, near William Burgess Elementary School (south of Pape + O'Connor).

#biketo #walkto

SUV drivers face paying extra for parking under plans by Welsh council Cardiff Council is expected to approve the changes as part of a new policy aimed at reducing congestion and improving air quality in the city.

Cardiff, Wales is taking a stand against car bloat.

The city is poised to become the first in the UK to increase parking fees for vehicles >2400 kg (5291 lb).

A city report claims big cars are “more polluting, more expensive and more dangerous,” and “should pay more for permits."

"Public subsidies for the auto industry in Canada are no longer part of a thoughtful economic or industrial strategy. They’re simply a habit. Automakers have become more adept at asking for handouts + playing govts against each other than at making good products." www.thestar.com/opinion/lett...

Average U.S. New Car Prices Top $50,000 For The First Time Ever Prices for new vehicles have risen steadily in the last year as the pace of price increases has sped up in recent months, according to Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book.

Average new-vehicle manufacturer’s suggested retail prices hit an all-time high last month, reaching $52k, up 4.2% from last year.

(The best selling vehicle in the U.S. is a ford truck that sells for more than 65k)

All that “freedom” to be stuck in car dependency & traffic sure sounds expensive.

Why car companies should fear the golf cart Automakers are churning out vehicles that are bigger and more expensive—but that might soon reach a breaking point.

For the first time, the avg new car costs >$50,000. www.cnbc.com/2025/10/13/n...

It's making more and more sense for families to use a relatively cheap e-bike or golf cart in lieu of a 2nd or 3rd car. Detroit should be nervous.