Cars... are dumb. Ok hold on cowboy,
don't go just yet. I know a lot of you love your cars. I should be clear that I drive one too,
and for the record, I'm not a spandex-wearing super-cyclist.
Cars can be wonderful instruments of adventure and independence. The problems arise not when a
person drive a car, but when everyone drives a car... for everything they do. In North America
especially, we have become so dependent on cars that for most people, they have become
a depreciating and expensive daily burden - not the embodiment of freedom they once epitomized.
Alright lets get the obvious stuff on the table first. Driving a car involves literally
no physical activity, and boy oh boy does this world need physical activity. Obesity has been on
the rise for decades now and while a lot of that can be attributed to dietary issues, we also have
to remember that before cars, moderate physical activity was just part of daily life - especially
walking. Car dependency removes that casual activity and replaces it with a sedentary postural
achieved almost 55 billion passenger kilometres without a single death. In comparison, 55 billion
passenger kilometres by car would have resulted in about 825 deaths in United States of Freedom.
In reality, approximately ~35,000 people die each year in car accidents in the United States - about
the same number of deaths that are attributed to prostate cancer. These are just the deaths that
are directly attributable to accidents, so this doesn't include deaths secondary to things like
air pollution, or the aforementioned sedentary lifestyle. Places like France and Japan show
us that we can solve our major transportation needs with decades-old technology - fast trains.
Commutes by car can be stressful, and arguably they should be. You're in control of a 3,000
pound metal box travelling 60mph, and everyone else around you is in the same boat (... I mean
car?). On a busy intercity highway, all senses are on high alert to protect you from the dangers of
others and to protect others from the danger of you. It's exhausting - and that's when traffic is
flowing nicely. When traffic doesn't flow... well, I don't have to tell you how depressing that is.
On the other hand, those who choose to walk, bike, or take the train to work can basically
relax for the whole commute; as long as they are given dedicated space for their walking, biking,
or... training. Car-commuting en masse allows far too many people to make very dangerous decisions
very frequently, and it's stressing you out. Less obvious, but perhaps more sinister,
is how cars have allowed us to become socially isolated from people in our own neighbourhoods.
Ya see, these kind of meandering suburban street layouts basically force you to use
a car to get anywhere useful. Pay attention in these neighbourhoods, and you'll probably notice
more cars than people - it's pretty lifeless looking. Car-dependent lifestyles in car-centric
cities reduce the frequency of natural, pleasant interactions by pushing all of your daily needs
farther and farther away. The sort of spontaneity and effortlessness that comes with running into
your neighbours at nearby local stores is what gives us a sense of belonging. Our best
friendships are made with people whom we routinely see in person, and on whom we feel we can rely.
Lastly, the thing that speaks to us all - money. Your car is almost certainly costing you more than
you know. A car is one of the most expensive things people ever buy. You then have to pay
for gas or electricity and insurance, which can easily combine to cost $100's per month.
Think about that - a single month of operating costs for a car could get you a decent bike that
lasts years. If you have even one frugal bone in your body, you should be jumping at the chance
to bike to work instead of driving. Anyway, maintenance costs only get worse and worse,
and you also need a place to park the damn thing. By the way, all that free parking at the mall and
the movie theatre? Yeah, you paid for that. No one asked you, but your taxes have subsidized
the hell out of those monstrosities. And they are expensive. But that is for another video.
Your car is the drain in your financial bathtub. All of this money could have been spent on things
and experiences that are actually fun. Think of the hobbies and interests you could explore if,
instead of having a car, I gave you $20,000 today and continued to pay you $400 monthly.
That's a lot of hobbying. Car dependency has helped make us fat, stressed,
and poor. They're bad for you, and just wait until you hear how bad they are for your city. We need
to stop building our lives and our cities around cars. Fortunately, we can do without them, and in
fact, people all over the world have been doing it for millennia. We can build denser, mixed-use
areas that place all of our daily desires within walking or biking distance. Throw in some reliable
public transit and you've got yourself a city that's made for people. Ditching our cars for
more sensible forms of transportation will go a long way in making us happier and healthier.
Like and Subscribe to learn more about how we can help our cities and how our cities can help us.