[DRAFT] Shouldering the Burden

[Cretox State]

A draft of an issue dealing with road shoulders and automobiles in general. Please let me know if this is too similar to any existing issues. As always, any feedback is appreciated.

Draft 4: Trimmed the issue down.

Shouldering the Burden

Validity: Must have cars.

Description
Your Finance Minister made headlines yesterday after his antiquated car's engine failed on a major thoroughfare, leading to a massive crash and traffic being backed up all the way to @@CAPITAL@@.

Option 1
"If that road had a shoulder, I could've just pulled over and none of this would've happened," moans your Finance Minister, nursing a bump on his head. "In fact, I don't see why any road shouldn't have a shoulder. We need to expand all our major roadways to have shoulders wide enough to fit the largest vehicles. Otherwise, how's someone supposed to make an emergency stop if their useless car's engine stalls, just to give an example?"

Effect: the nation's largest highway doubles as a parking lot

Option 2
"Back in my day, we couldn't expect to cross the road twice without breaking a few eggs," says octogenarian @@RANDOMNAME@@, @@HIS@@ metaphors as confused as @@HIS@@ facial expression. "Frankly, I think you should just remind people that they're responsible for what happens out on the highway, and that it isn't the government's job to baby them!"

Effect: public roads just aren't the government's problem

Option 3
"This just goes to show that cars are more trouble than they're worth," proclaims cyclist @@RANDOMNAME@@, stopping to toot @@HIS@@ own horn. "Hear me out on this: let's just ban all cars! They're loud, they cause traffic problems like this, and one of them ran over my dog! Just invest in public transportation instead."

Effect: the automobile industry has been driven to extinction

Shouldering the Burden

Validity: Must have cars.

Description
Your Finance Minister made headlines yesterday after his antiquated car's engine failed on a major thoroughfare, leading to a massive crash and traffic being backed up all the way to @@CAPITAL@@.

Option 1
"If that road had a shoulder, I could've just pulled over and none of this would've happened," moans your Finance Minister, nursing a bump on his head. "In fact, I don't see why any road shouldn't have a shoulder. We need to expand all our major roadways to have shoulders wide enough to fit the largest vehicles. Otherwise, how's someone supposed to make an emergency stop if their useless car's engine stalls, just to give an example?"

Effect: the nation's largest highway doubles as a parking lot

Option 2a
Validity: Must have market economy.

"Need a place to stop, and need it NOW?" asks @@RANDOMNAME@@, spokesperson for an alliance of gas, car, food, and entertainment companies. "Not to fear; the answer is here! If you just throw the tiniest subsidies and a bit of land our way, we'll construct state-of-the-art rest stations alongside every major highway. Motorists in need of a place to stop can kick up their feet, refuel their vehicles, and enjoy some of our many top-rated products! Just read this brochure!"

Effect: the populations of luxurious remote rest stops exceed those of the towns they serve

Option 2b
Validity: Must have planned economy.

"If we're going to be refreshing our road system, why not ensure that every citizen benefits?" asks @@RANDOMNAME@@, Director of Big Spending Projects, placing an expensive compress on your Finance Minister's head. "If we construct state-of-the-art rest stations alongside every major highway, motorists will be able to stop their cars, kick up their feet, and enjoy some nice food and gas. Everyone wins!"

Effect: the populations of luxurious remote rest stops exceed those of the towns they serve

Option 3
"Back in my day, we couldn't expect to cross the road twice without breaking a few eggs," says octogenarian @@RANDOMNAME@@, @@HIS@@ metaphors as confused as @@HIS@@ facial expression. "We made sure our vehicles were in good condition before we started driving, and some roadside ditches here and there were good enough for us! Frankly, I think you should just remind people that they're responsible for what happens out on the highway, and it isn't the government's job to baby them!"

Effect: public roads just aren't the government's problem

Option 4
"This just goes to show that cars are more trouble than they're worth," proclaims cyclist @@RANDOMNAME@@, stopping to toot @@HIS@@ own horn. "Hear me out on this: let's just ban all cars! They're loud, they cause traffic, and one of them ran over my dog! Just invest in public transportation instead. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

Effect: the automobile industry has been driven to extinction

Shouldering the Blame

Validity: Must have cars.

Description
Your Finance Minister made headlines yesterday after his car's engine failed on a major thoroughfare, leading to a massive crash and traffic being backed up all the way to @@CAPITAL@@.

Option 1
"If that road had a shoulder, I could've just pulled over and none of this would've happened," moans your Finance Minister, nursing a bump on his head. "In fact, I don't see why any road shouldn't have a shoulder. We need to expand all our major roadways to have shoulders wide enough to fit the largest vehicles. Otherwise, how's someone supposed to make an emergency stop if their useless car runs out of gas, just to give an example?"

Effect: the @@CAPITAL@@ Turnpike doubles as a parking lot

Option 2a
Validity: Must have market economy.

"That sounds expensive, especially coming from a Finance Minister," notes Jimmy Moore, CEO of Moore Motors, slapping the top of your desk. "The real problem is that your Minister was using an outdated model with two-point-seven percent lower engine reliability than this year's version. With a bit of extra juice and a government-sponsored public awareness campaign, we can ensure that every citizen has a state-of-the-art machine every release cycle!"

Effect: the nation's landfills are full of perfectly good cars that nobody wants

Option 2b
Validity: Must have state-planned economy

"That sounds expensive, especially coming from a Finance Minister," notes @@RANDOMNAME@@, your transportation advisor. "The real problem is that all our cars have unreliable engines and even worse exteriors. With a bit of extra funding and a good public awareness campaign, we can ensure that every citizen has a state-of-the-art machine every year!"

Effect: the nation's landfills are full of perfectly good cars that nobody wants

Option 3
"Of course it broke; the car's engine ran on gas!" declares @@RANDOMNAME@@, proud owner of an electric car that only occasionally catches fire. "The government needs to promote cars that run on alternative fuel sources, like electricity, solar power, and @@ANIMAL@@ droppings. It'll be better for the environment, and more choices are always a good thing, right?"

Effect: gasoline has been pushed to the wayside in favor of electricity from fossil fuels

Option 4
"This just goes to show that cars are more trouble than they're worth," proclaims cyclist @@RANDOMNAME@@, stopping to toot @@HIS@@ own horn. "Hear me out on this: let's just ban all cars! They're loud, they cause traffic, and one of them ran over my dog! Just invest in public transportation instead. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

Effect: the automobile industry has been driven to extinction

Shouldering the Blame

Validity: Must have cars.

Description
Your Finance Minister made headlines yesterday after his car ran out of gas on a major thoroughfare, leading to a massive crash and traffic being backed up all the way to @@CAPITAL@@.

Option 1
"If that road had a shoulder, I could've just pulled over and none of this would've happened," moans your Finance Minister, nursing a bump on his head. "In fact, I don't see why any road shouldn't have a shoulder. We need to expand all our major roadways to have shoulders wide enough to fit the largest vehicles. Otherwise, how's someone supposed to make an emergency stop if their useless car runs out of gas, just to give an example?"

Effect: the @@CAPITAL@@ Turnpike doubles as a parking lot

Option 2a
Validity: Must have market economy.

"That sounds expensive, especially coming from a Finance Minister," notes Jimmy Moore, CEO of Moore Motors, slapping the top of your desk. "The real problem is that your Minister was using an outdated model with two-point-seven percent lower fuel efficiency than this year's version. With a bit of extra juice and a government-sponsored public awareness campaign, we can ensure that every citizen has a state-of-the-art machine every release cycle!"

Effect: the nation's landfills are full of perfectly good cars that nobody wants

Option 2b
Validity: Must have state-planned economy

"That sounds expensive, especially coming from a Finance Minister," notes @@RANDOMNAME@@, your transportation advisor. "The real problem is that all our cars have bad fuel efficiency and even worse exteriors. With a bit of extra funding and a good public awareness campaign, we can ensure that every citizen has a state-of-the-art machine every year!"

Effect: the nation's landfills are full of perfectly good cars that nobody wants

Option 3
"The car ran out of gas. Gas. GAAAAS," says @@RANDOMNAME@@, proud owner of an electric car that only occasionally catches fire. "The government needs to promote cars that run on alternative fuel sources, like electricity, solar power, and @@ANIMAL@@ droppings. It'll be better for the environment, and more choices are always a good thing, right?"

Effect: gasoline has been pushed to the wayside in favor of electricity from fossil fuels

Option 4
"This just goes to show that cars are more trouble than they're worth," proclaims cyclist @@RANDOMNAME@@, stopping to toot @@HIS@@ own horn. "Hear me out on this: let's just ban all cars! They're loud, they cause traffic, and one of them ran over my dog! Just invest in public transportation instead. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

Effect: the automobile industry has been driven to extinction

[Jutsa]

An interesting issue, but I'm mostly popping in to point this out:

"The car ran out of gas. Gas. GAAAAS," says @@RANDOMNAME@@, proud owner of an electric car that only occasionally catches fire.

This is a damn impressive line, congratulations.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Yeah, I like it.

The opening skirts the edge of being really not a government issue, but the overall execution swings it back on track. Works for me.

[Cretox State]

Yeah, I like it.

The opening skirts the edge of being really not a government issue, but the overall execution swings it back on track. Works for me.

My initial idea was to have the opening be about a diplomat who failed to negotiate a critical treaty because he couldn't pull over to make a call, but I felt that would (a) be too convoluted, and (b) draw attention away from the point of the issue.

[Australian rePublic]

Traffic backed up all the way to @@CAPITAL@@ from where?

Also, as long as you have the means not to, running out of petrol is a stupid person problem. Punish him for doing so

[Westinor]

The problem I would see here is not having enough gas stations to stop at, which should be the only plausible reason for the Minister to run out of gas. This applies to several of the options too, as promoting electric vehicles doesn't mean that the electric vehicle is less likely to run out of fuel, since electric vehicles generally have around the same mileage for a full 'tank', with even fewer available refueling stations irl. Same goes for the other options, as the only problem is that the Minister ran out of gas - the premise is very broad, and though this allows for many perspectives, imo it doesn't work that well logically.

[Cretox State]

Traffic backed up all the way to @@CAPITAL@@ from where?

Implicitly from someplace far enough away to be notable.

Also, as long as you have the means not to, running out of petrol is a stupid person problem. Punish him for doing so

The problem I would see here is not having enough gas stations to stop at, which should be the only plausible reason for the Minister to run out of gas. This applies to several of the options too, as promoting electric vehicles doesn't mean that the electric vehicle is less likely to run out of fuel, since electric vehicles generally have around the same mileage for a full 'tank', with even fewer available refueling stations irl. Same goes for the other options, as the only problem is that the Minister ran out of gas - the premise is very broad, and though this allows for many perspectives, imo it doesn't work that well logically.

I changed the opening to be about his engine stalling. The issue should work better, but I think it definitely needs more revision.

[Australian rePublic]

The problem I would see here is not having enough gas stations to stop at, which should be the only plausible reason for the Minister to run out of gas. This applies to several of the options too, as promoting electric vehicles doesn't mean that the electric vehicle is less likely to run out of fuel, since electric vehicles generally have around the same mileage for a full 'tank', with even fewer available refueling stations irl. Same goes for the other options, as the only problem is that the Minister ran out of gas - the premise is very broad, and though this allows for many perspectives, imo it doesn't work that well logically.

There are people who run out of petrol, despite having access to petrol stations. It happens

[Cretox State]

Just a reminder that the issue no longer uses "running out of gas."

[Cretox State]

Bumping this for feedback.

[La Xinga]

The last one should enact the policy "no cars"

[Cretox State]

The last one should enact the policy "no cars"

Done.

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Just to note that you don't need to include policy changes on your issue drafts or submissions. These count as stat changes, so are left to the editing team to assess and implement as needed.

Maybe the whole thing needs more focus though. Right now there's so many possible approaches that we're never going to cover them all.

Maybe focus the whole thing in on hard shoulders?

[Cretox State]

Just to note that you don't need to include policy changes on your issue drafts or submissions. These count as stat changes, so are left to the editing team to assess and implement as needed.

Maybe the whole thing needs more focus though. Right now there's so many possible approaches that we're never going to cover them all.

Maybe focus the whole thing in on hard shoulders?

I could try and frame it around the extent of hard shoulders, so: (1) some shoulders for emergency stops, (2) frequent full-service rest-stops, (3) roadside ditches are good enough, (4) ban all cars.

[Cretox State]

Draft 3; I reframed the issue around shoulders specifically.

[Cretox State]

Bumping this.

[Trotterdam]

Umm, I'm not really an expert on roads, but how is this different from #1282?

Also...

"Hear me out on this: let's just ban all cars! They're loud, they cause traffic, and one of them ran over my dog!

Cars cause traffic!? You don't say!

Is the speaker really supposed to be that stupid, or is it a typo for "traffic jams"?

[Daarwyrth]

Umm, I'm not really an expert on roads, but how is this different from #1282?

Also...

"Hear me out on this: let's just ban all cars! They're loud, they cause traffic, and one of them ran over my dog!

Cars cause traffic!? You don't say!

Is the speaker really supposed to be that stupid, or is it a typo for "traffic jams"?

I am as qualified to talk about roads as a toddler is qualified to be a surgeon, but the difference between this issue draft and issue #1282 is that a rest area would be specifically designated for that, rest. A shoulder on the other hand is purely for emergencies, for example, when a car engine fails and you need to quickly turn in to the shoulder so as to avoid a crash. A shoulder is not to be used for anything else other than this purpose and as such, is distinct from a resting area.

leading to a massive crash and traffic being backed up all the way to @@CAPITAL@@

Consider rephrasing this to "causing a massive crash and ensuing traffic jam going all the way back to @@CAPITAL@@".

As to option 2a and 2b, those come close to what Trotterdam mentions about issue #1282. Perhaps you should consider cutting this out and focusing the issue purely on shoulders.

they cause traffic

I agree with Trotterdam, this most definitely should be "traffic jams"

has been driven to extinction

This one made be chuckle

[Cretox State]

Draft 4 is now up.