Watching the news this morning, I heard two stories in which people were killed by automobile accidents. One was a 17 year old girl who clipped an SUV with her car when taking an exit off the freeway. The other was a man who was hit by a woman who was texting while crossing the street (legally, in a crosswalk). Both stories are extremely tragic, both in the obvious way (someone just lost their daughter today), and in another, more abstract way...
The "abstract" tragedy I speak of is that our society (in the USA) accepts these kinds of deaths as a normal part of our routine. Nearly every day, I hear about people killed by automobiles. If these deaths were limited to people who choose to take the risk to drive, that would be one thing, but many people suffering from auto-related deaths are children, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Children are too young to make a rational decision about the risks of riding in an automobile, and are also too young to understand the risks they face as pedestrians. People who choose to bike or walk are faced with dangers they do not deserve.
In many ways, cars are like cigarettes. Not only do they create noxious fumes that non-drivers have to breathe, but they have other second-hand effects as well. As I stated above, they present the risk of death to those who choose not to partake in car-culture (pedestirans/bicyclists). They present health risks to children, who are too young to decide whether they want to take that risk or not. They are responsible for developmental patterns (suburbia) that promote obesity and eliminate alternative options for those who choose not to drive (or can't due to age or disability). They also account for the exportation of 700 billion US dollars a year to foreign countries (some of which are our "enemies") for oil.
Cigarettes were a normal, accepted part of our society at one time, and people had the right to smoke anywhere they pleased. Eventually, we began to understand the health risks associated with smoking, and we reached a tipping point where it went from being a benign aspect of our society to a negative aspect. Since we have ways of living without cars- patterns of community development that promote health, decrease pollution, cost less, keep our children safer, use less energy, etc- that in no way compromise our quality of life, will cars eventually become a negative aspect of our society as well? An invention from a foregone era that eventually illustrated its negative impact on society?
Are cars the new cigarettes? If not, why not?
The "abstract" tragedy I speak of is that our society (in the USA) accepts these kinds of deaths as a normal part of our routine. Nearly every day, I hear about people killed by automobiles. If these deaths were limited to people who choose to take the risk to drive, that would be one thing, but many people suffering from auto-related deaths are children, bicyclists, and pedestrians. Children are too young to make a rational decision about the risks of riding in an automobile, and are also too young to understand the risks they face as pedestrians. People who choose to bike or walk are faced with dangers they do not deserve.
In many ways, cars are like cigarettes. Not only do they create noxious fumes that non-drivers have to breathe, but they have other second-hand effects as well. As I stated above, they present the risk of death to those who choose not to partake in car-culture (pedestirans/bicyclists). They present health risks to children, who are too young to decide whether they want to take that risk or not. They are responsible for developmental patterns (suburbia) that promote obesity and eliminate alternative options for those who choose not to drive (or can't due to age or disability). They also account for the exportation of 700 billion US dollars a year to foreign countries (some of which are our "enemies") for oil.
Cigarettes were a normal, accepted part of our society at one time, and people had the right to smoke anywhere they pleased. Eventually, we began to understand the health risks associated with smoking, and we reached a tipping point where it went from being a benign aspect of our society to a negative aspect. Since we have ways of living without cars- patterns of community development that promote health, decrease pollution, cost less, keep our children safer, use less energy, etc- that in no way compromise our quality of life, will cars eventually become a negative aspect of our society as well? An invention from a foregone era that eventually illustrated its negative impact on society?
Are cars the new cigarettes? If not, why not?