this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2026
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Fuck Cars

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A place to discuss problems of car centric infrastructure or how it hurts us all. Let's explore the bad world of Cars!

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[–] Bahnd@lemmy.world 63 points 1 month ago (6 children)

My local gas stations just play ads on the payment screen. There was a mute button (usually top right, even if it was unlabled) but some have disabled that. I keep a note of those who do and have stopped going there.

Remember folks, Advertisment is theft and vote with your wallet.

[–] RockBottom@feddit.org 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

For EV it‘s not a thing, is it?

[–] Theoriginalthon@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago (2 children)

No because you just plug in and walk off or sit in your car, I can't think of any sane person that would spend money on advertising on an EV charger

[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

It could end up similar to the gas pump where whatever payment system is there will play ads before you pay for the electricity. You can even pay extra to skip the ads.

[–] ebolapie@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Shell has/had charging points that are attached to like 8 foot tall digital billboards. At one point they were playing tiktok lifehack content on them, presumably because nobody wanted to buy space.

[–] Bahnd@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Yes and no...

Yes, you can just walk away, but your car is there for longer.

If its like the chargers at my local food shop, they are plastered with bigger and louder ads, but as before, go do other things.

If its a super-chaeger on the highway, your sorta stuck there.

EV chargers are a significantly more connected station.

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[–] pedz@lemmy.ca 43 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I've been car free all my life and not pumping gas into a multi ton vehicle that burns it to move everywhere I go is one of the nice parts.

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Another car free lifer here!

[–] GreenCrunch@piefed.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

To unlock your pedals, please watch this 30 second ad.

(AD)

Uh oh! It looks like your ad display battery is low and the pedals cannot be unlocked! Please charge the ad display to use your bike.

[–] pedz@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago (2 children)

This is one of the reasons why e-bikes are not a favorite of mine. Some are obviously fairly simple and not IoT/cloud connected/AI/buzzword, but others, like VanMoof, needed an app to unlock the bike. So it would indeed be easy to display an ad before being able to unlock some e-bikes. They can be like modern cars and spy on their users too. Gotta be very careful when shopping and buying one of these.

[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago

Mine doesn't need an app and can be used without any such one.

[–] GreenCrunch@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Definitely good to consider. Any sort of connectivity on an ebike seems weird to me - I would want to charge it and choose a speed/throttle, not internet features.

[–] SuiXi3D@fedia.io 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I truly wish I was in a situation where I could do the same.

[–] pedz@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

It's not always easy. I had to move. My new city/region has barely adequate public transit and my country has abysmal train services. So my bike is the main way to move around. It's really nice for short distances. Even longer ones in summer. I love it. I have panniers, trailers, and pull my inflatable kayak to the lakes and rivers around.

However intercity travel here is horrible without a car. We have a pretty decent network of dedicated bike paths spreading like a web from my city and going into the countryside, but I don't always want to cycle 300 km to and fro to visit my parents. Plus, it's winter right now, so I rely a lot more on public transit, and sometimes it really makes me wish I would have a car instead of having to deal with underfunded transit and bike networks.

I watch the people standing up in the crowded bus, that has to leave people behind at some stops because it's full, and I think to myself that society really really wants people to own a car; that transit users tolerate a lot of shit. And unfortunately, using public transit is also being subjected to an insane amount of ads.

That's why I love my bike so much. But it would also be hypocrite of myself not to acknowledge that I sometimes stop at gas stations while bike touring, because I also need some fuel, like a sandwich and some electrolytes. There's going to be ads inside and the cashier might even offer a lottery ticket. No way to escape them.

Still, if you wish to be car free, I hope you can attain that goal. Because even with that said, it's satisfying to move myself and my stuff without a car, or not having to constantly pay for gas. In a world where cars are systematic, at least where I live, it feels like an accomplishment to do things without one.

[–] SuiXi3D@fedia.io 4 points 1 month ago

Yeah, I have an e-bike I rarely use. At one point I had a job close by and I could bike along some walking trails and through a neighborhood on the street to get there, but when I left and got a new job the place is on the other side of the city. I could use it to make grocery trips, but I drive by the store on the way to and from work. Makes more sense to combine trips. Or I’m shopping on the weekends with my wife, who is disabled.

Public transit here… exists, but it takes an inordinately long amount of time to get from point A to B. The rail service is a single line and has the same problem, also doesn’t run all day and there’s only maybe two trains.

[–] CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 23 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Nothing a bit of spray paint won’t cover.

Edited - with all the cameras at gas stations maybe a sticker is a better idea.

[–] Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago

Or even just a “fuck you” sticker.

[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 month ago

moral imperative

[–] entwine@programming.dev 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Someone should design a 3d printable cover that can be attached to cover the screen, and then go around covering them all.

Paint or stickers might count as vandalism if you're caught, but a removable cover is probably safe

Edit: sorry, the microplastics crept into my brain when I wrote this. Fuck 3d printing, just use a piece of cardboard and tape lmao

[–] Einskjaldi@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Make sure you don't accidentally drip any nail polish remover/acetone on the bright screen, it woud instantly make it cloudy and blurry.

[–] piecat@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Isn't gasoline a pretty good solvent?

[–] MyDogLovesMe@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Wait; I have to watch this ad before my toilet paper is dispensed and I can wipe my ass…🙄

[–] human@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 month ago

Literal enshittification.

[–] Otiz@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 month ago

Not even surprised anymore

[–] _stranger_@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

How did that not get swing smashed into the ground day one?! You even have perfect plausible deniability. "Oops, I accidentally dropped it with extreme prejudice".

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago

Holy shit, I thought the US was bad.

Id smash that screen.

[–] uberdroog@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Customer case Smarter Nozzle | DEKRA Customer cases https://share.google/R8LLx9JhtE4p6A4PF

[–] raldone01@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

🤢🤮

Reading that article made me feel sick. I would hate myself if that was one of my achievements in the world.

Thanks for linking though.

[–] Wild_Mastic@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Smarter Nozzle

id like to hit whoever came up with that idea with een baguette

WOW, THAT IS BLANKED-UP, I hate Capitalism’s commercialization.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 5 points 1 month ago (6 children)

What's with the plastic glove thing?

[–] Hazel@piefed.blahaj.zone 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I mean, it's an object that's touched by thousands of people a day and might drip gasoline.

Not many people use it from what I've seen, but it's nice to have as an option.

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[–] abbadon420@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 month ago (3 children)
[–] RickyRigatoni@retrolemmy.com 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] Beacon@fedia.io 2 points 1 month ago

Yes! Most people give a raised eyebrow when i tell them that i like the smell of gasoline

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[–] bstix@feddit.dk 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The last guy to hold that handle held something else in his hand beforehand. Hint: It's his dick.

[–] Saapas@piefed.zip 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

So technically our dicks were touching by proxy?

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[–] 18107@aussie.zone 4 points 1 month ago

Time to switch to an EV?

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 4 points 1 month ago

I imagine they will go from the payment screen to the pump here, soon. I turn my back, either way.

[–] fatalicus@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

It probably won't last much longer, seeing as the company that made them went bankrupt last year.

[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Wow that is pathetic. I thought it was practically the lowest they could stoop when they added ads to pause screens on streaming TV services. I was wrong.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

This seems like a fire hazard

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

How you liking your Volvo?

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