Driving

[chris11]

I do not believe that people should drive at all. Of course, I do not think that there are no advantages of driving, however, most people could get by without.

Here are some reasons.

1. Driving is an enviromental hazard
2. Driving places yourself at risk
3. Driving places others at risk
4. Gasoline is very expensive.
5. Cars are very expensive.

One of the most common arguments for driving is that if you drive, then you'll be able to go whereever you want, whenever you want to. However, in most cities, you can get by on a combination of the bus system and a bicycle.

Anouther argument for driving is that if there is an emergency, then you will be able to tend to it immeditly. This is quite reasonable until you realize that this would involve shelling out literly thousands of dollars and a lot of time for an event, whose nature you know absolutly nothing about, that may not even occur. Do we spend thousands of dollars building underground shelters in case there is an epidemic, nuclear war, asteroid collision, or something else? No we do not. Well it's nice to be prepared for an emergency, it's important to not over invest yourself in preperation, and 1000s of dollars and lots and lots of time sure sound like over investment.

 

[seafolly]

But...but...my closest neighbour is two miles away. And I don't fancy carrying groceries in from town.

 

[chris11]

Yeah, I sympathize with that. But, who says that you need purchase everything at once? You could lessen the load by visiting the supermarket a couple times a week, insted of just once (if that's your habbit). Although it wouldn't be that great to have a huge chunk of time devoted to visiting the supermarket, is it really worth the money and risk?

 

[OneOh1]

Driving is the only thing that relaxes me other than smoking and alcohol...

 

[coyote]

I'm totally with you where you're coming from, chris11.

I would love to see the world return to the way it was 100 years ago, when motorized transportation was the exception rather than the norm.

The trouble is that (at least in most of North America) our entire way of living has been so totally dictated by the automobile, that it is now very impractical - if not impossible - for many people to manage their lives without them.

I'm not saying it shouldn't or couldn't be done, but it would require practically restructuring our whole society in order to accomplish what you have suggested.

We may as well get started now - we're going to have to sooner or later anyway.

(Personally - I recently moved so that I can walk to work and cycle anywhere I need to on a day-to-day basis.)

 

[bluepixel]

I'd love more pedestrian-friendly cities, but I'm not against driving, at the very least it's fun! I'm in NYC so I don't really need a car and I don't drive that much, primarily b/c the subway is very efficient (not crazy about buses - waiting for a bus in the dead of winter is horrible)... however, in many suburbs you can't go anywhere w/o a car. Even in many smaller cities, there are few, if any, sidewalks or bike lanes, and things can be spread out miles apart.

Some of the reasons you listed are valid, someone certainly shouldn't get a car if it's not within their means. However, the environmental impact of newer cars is much less than that of older models and they're much more fuel efficient. Also, there's always some risk, but a lot of it can be mitigated by just practicing and becoming a better driver.

 

[206Raider]

I love to drive around, sometimes I just drive around nowhere to go, listening to music. Escaping Society.

 

[Amnesiac]

Absolutely. Not to mentions cars prevent people from getting physical exercise by walking and the damn noise pollution they cause. I think the combination of cars and loud obnoxious *******s is the best possible case for banning motored vehicles.

 

[Tiercel]

I'm doing my part. I haven't had any drive in years.

And I think I've mentioned before that my ideal automobile would be a Frisian. A big black horse, for those who don't already know.

 

[fitftw]

My car keeps me alive. I love my Miata. I spend obscene amounts of money on upgrades.

I just wrote a paper on how pointless SUVs are to a majority of the population.

 

[zav943]

You can say the same thing about flying...about a lot of things actually.

If I stopped doing everything that has risks/costs associated with it (like rock climbing), I'd be even more miserable than I am.

 

[Dronee]

Maybe a bicycle using some kind of hydraulics or other means as a force multiplier would be great... or at least equip cars with a bumper made of extremely rubbery, soft but resilient material so that damage gets reduced?

Haha... not sure... I'm no engineer. But it'll be nice if we can reduce pollution and also reduce the danger to ourselves and others.

 

[quietkiwi]

I get that we have to change as a society towards a greener planet, I just try in different ways as driving is just so essential to my wellbeing. I live in a sprawling urban area which is basicaly 4 cities where one runs into the next and we have really poor public transport, although hopefully that will improve.

 

[Ignace]

Cars are not only transportation products, they are also a hobby for a lot of people. Driving is only dangerous for other people when you meet unresponsible drivers on the road. Mostly car johnnies and old people. All 40/50 +ers here in Belgium just receiver their license, they did not do anything for it. They are the major problem, they don't know anything about the rules and bring others in danger. If all people should redo their exam, the streets would be 50 % empty I guess.

 

[Felgen]

Some reasons why it's ok to drive:

- Bottled water is more expensive than gasoline
- Public transportation is expensive and unreliable
- Classic cars aren't expensive
- It's fun to customize your car
- Most people live a couple of miles away from their workplace

 

[seafolly]

Yeah, I sympathize with that. But, who says that you need purchase everything at once? You could lessen the load by visiting the supermarket a couple times a week, insted of just once (if that's your habbit). Although it wouldn't be that great to have a huge chunk of time devoted to visiting the supermarket, is it really worth the money and risk?

Well, considering it's a twenty minute drive through rural roads to get into the nearest town, well, I don't need to be carrying anything to declare that journey on foot not ideal. Let alone carrying a carton of milk home. Those who reside in the country need to drive. Period.

Now, as I grew up in the city only a couple of blocks away from a subway, I don't even have a driver's license because there's no point. But any anti-driving opinions should be directed at those who have such luxuries. We have to be practical here.

 

[Kinetik]

I have a car but I don't drive much, maybe 100 miles a week. Where I live it's so urban that it's just pointless and frustrating for the most part. Having said that, my car is great on gas and the insurance is only 25 euros a month so I'm not too put out by it. Environmentally I don't really give a toss though. It's not like I invented the car, and my carbon footprint in general is very small, so I don't feel responsible or guilty on that front. Still, I'm thinking about selling it and getting one of those retro scooters instead. They look pretty cool.

 

[Richey]

yeh i think in modern society and the way economies run and the supply and demand which relies on people getting places quickly then cars are helpful for that ...but perhaps the tests should be made harder for people so that only really compitent or people who "get it" can drive ..this would probably reduce road accidents and fatalities. in terms of the environmental effects. there needs to be alternative fuels so that perhaps we have 1/3 petrol, 1/3 electric/ 1/3 solar power ...something like that which spreads the load and reduces emissions.

i'm still waiting for that hoverboard from back to the future part II. i'm hanging out for that.

 

[Luke1993]

If I don't do it someone else will! hehe well I don't actually drive anyway but I imagine things would get in a big mess if you took some people's cars away!

I can just imagine the day when all the oil runs out, it would be a normal day then suddenly all cars will just stop and an announcement will be made "Well that's it, we're out of oil now!" wonder if we'll be able to find an alternative feul (if we have already why aren't we using it?)

 

[seafolly]

wonder if we'll be able to find an alternative feul (if we have already why aren't we using it?)

There's a lot of alternative fuels out there. There's propane, ethanol, methanol, electrical energy, hydrogen, natural gas, etc. Governments can get better control of this by offering tax rebates for those driving vehicles running on alternative fuel (like Ontario is already). Availability is a problem in North America but if you do your research you can find the gas stations that provide these types of fuel.