wheatpaste

near home, as a kid, I remember a stop sign with the word "driving" painted on it

the idea felt too impossible to really consider

despite their limited success, these signs are still out there

and now, I often imagine my own futile signs

usually, I'm just experiencing the timeless hope that people being convinced to change will change something larger¹

still, it's endlessly tempting to imagine that one perfect image could create an urgent consensus

1. Inspired by the War on Cars podcast bonus episode on July 29, 2025, discussing two books that grapple with road violence from the perspective of people who remember a time before widespread car dependence: "Road Safety: How to Reduce Accidents" by T.S. Skillman (1965) and the anthology "He Rides Beside You" (1957). The hosts note that in both books, authors recognize the moral risk of driving, but their main idea is that people just need to be convinced to be more rational and moral about the act of driving, a timeless sentiment that has never had a solution.