Cars and what really matters, part 2 or 3, depending

OK, so we are still driving and relying upon driving our cars too much.
Agreed? No?

Seems that we like driving. It's independent. It's available all day and
all night, when we want. It goes door to door. It carries loads, or
passengers. It's handy. And we have moved our shops away from walking
distance so we must drive to get there. And our favourite places are either
a long, long way away or simply away from public transport, so again we
need a car. And we have chosen to build our houses away from public
transport. So again, to get to work we must drive. And we have cemented
this sort of 'design' in place. It's bricks and mortar. To do it another
way means knocking it down and building it again. New train and tram lines
to go to suburbs poorly serviced now. Perhaps closing shopping centres and
dispersing the shops closer to the houses.

So whose fault is that? Do we blame governments because they encouraged
this freedom to travel by building better roads? Or did we want that?
Should we have said no? Should they have said no? Is it the government's
fault that they ran down other infrastructure - like public transport -
because we wanted cars? Or do we blame the car manaufacturers? It's chicken
and egg stuff but really the car companies have had it all their own way
for a long time. They needed smoother roads and more roads to allow their
customers to get places. Governments agreed and funded it - subsidised it.
The manufacturers made cars easier to drive and resisted real safety
measures - like roll cages, proper harnesses or helmets - to encourage
maximum sales. They prefer to sell - because they know you will buy -
comfy, quiet, smooth riding, powerful and easy-to-drive cars. If they had
to build slower, safer cars that gave you a better feeling for the road and
the environment you were driving through - rather than the splendid
isolation you get these days, they'd probably sell fewer cars. So they
lobbied governments for what they wanted. And won.

And look at what we've got. Great freedom, and cars everywhere. Pedestrians
are scared to cross roads, especially when the roads get wider and wider.
Bike riders are discouraged by the traffic. Car drivers are so isolated in
their tin cans they can't feel the wind or the road surface or hear the
wind rushing past, so they go too fast. And so we increase the fear felt by
pedestrians and cyclists. And discourage exercise. And increase our general
morbidity. Is this what we set out to achieve?

Let's rethink. We are running out of oil so let's spend some brain power on
re-inventing our private/public transport direction. Now, not later. Just a
thought!

Gotta go - must jump in the car and drive a massive 1.1km to the shops!


Cheers


Rob.