Motorist Minded

I don't think I could ever own a car. After nearly being run-over for the upteenth time by a car turning right onto Bank street yesterday, I feel it is time to speak out.

Of course, I say this now while I am still young and naive (perhaps). But the idea of saving money to eventually purchase a four-wheeled status symbol that runs on limited and expensive resources (insurance excluded) bothers me. The car, van, or SUV of today is a stark reminder of how evident class biases are still around. Improving on transit is a cleaner, more dependable way of displacing yourself around town, but I am still skeptical about how most cities will force people out of their hard earned and space-wasting vehicles.

The best way to sum this up is with a list of pros and cons, as with most dilemmas.

Pros (?): Getting places quickly, bringing groceries (and other consumer goods) home with ease, travelling to places that are difficult to get to (this is half a pro, most places can be easily reached with a reliable transit system. Or trains, buses and, one day, teleportation!).

Cons (!): Becoming lazy, paying obscene amounts of coin for insurance, gas, parking, the car itself, mufflers that make you sound really fast, becoming oblivious to the world around you (pedestrians), contributing to a growing environmental catastrophe, occasionally getting into horrific accidents. I could go on but listing these is not the real purpose of this post.

The act of driving itself gives birth to a whole range of bad behaviour. This is the part that really gets under my skin. There is a reason why we all take those extensive driving courses where we learn to basically look everywhere before doing anything that involves moving a vehicle. It is also truly astonishing how easy it is to forget that pedestrians have the right of way, ALWAYS, and that cyclists are to be considered equal vehicles on the road (although most drivers don't know or refuse to understand this). Nevertheless, as I discovered after getting my G license, all you have to do is avoid speeding and running reds, and you're all set! The small rules don't matter.
If something displeases you during your comfortable drive home, whether it be a fellow commuter or a small child in your way, just press on your obnoxiously loud horn! Don't worry, no one can harm you so long as you are safely seated behind locked doors. The outside world doesn't matter, it's what's inside the vehilce that counts: you and your desire to go wherever as quickly as possible with minimal effort.

Those in charge of infrastructure and public spending seem to encourage this truly revolting and rude behaviour. When there's a snow storm, sidewalks get second-hand treatment. The roads will get cleared, no problem. For people who do not own a car, however, this is a massive conundrum, one that perplexes me greatly. How is it that those who are the most efficient get preferential treatment? If they are able to get to their destination more quickly, why should those who move more slowly have to struggle? Not to mention the billions of dollars spent on repairing roads and clearing disgustingly massive spaces for people to park.

Society even encourages us to buy a car. Owning a car is, indeed, a ridiculous status symbol, especially in the city. It is expected to be acheived in our middle-class long term plans, along with owning a house and having a family. The mass production of cars inflates the situation to astronomical levels. Vehicles are widely available but still expensive. Everyone wants one, and can get one with relative ease. But at the same time it is expensive enough for us to claim that we "earned" this car, and that we can go where we want with it with relatively few consequences. We are essentially being made available with these devices that can, if used irresponsibly, kill people. And the amount of irresponsible people driving cars (admittedly, I was one of these people when I first started to drive) does not put me at ease. In many ways, it parrallels owning a gun in the United States. They may be fun to own, feeling like a big man and all, but the results of misuse are truly devastating.

We should all be like this old lady, she knows what the deal is:


Why I would want or be expected to contribute to this seemingly selfish behaviour baffles me. Once you see past the obvious benefits of driving, the negative consequences seem endless and horrendous.