In a place where independence is what we live by, travel is no exception. Every day millions of miles are traveled by people going to work, going home, or traveling for leisure and activities. As a driver, I understand the importance of being independent in your travel. But there are some negatives to this as well. The mass use of automobiles is creating a more crowded and dangerous environment.
Think of LA as an example, it’s on the news nearly every day how there’s another major traffic jam. All you see is pictures of stopped cars on the 405. There are two reasons for this. Public transportation is awful in the states, and driving your own car is a luxury everyone wants to abuse. Think about it, when you’re in your car listening to music it feels pretty nice, there’s a sense of freedom that comes along with it. But it also just looks better, “if people can drive (from the suburbs) to their destination … the reality is (driving is) always going to be a more attractive way to get around” (Taylor). People who live in the suburbs and work in the city definitely know what this means. And for those who use public transport to get to their jobs, maybe is biking to the train station, or taking a bus to the train station. They just know what’s most economically friendly and all-around a better service to society. After all, there are way too many cars on the road anyways. “The latest 2017 data report 273 million vehicles, 225 million licensed drivers, and 3.213 billion miles driven annually” (Injury Facts). That’s billion with a B, I can’t even try to put that into perspective.
Another negative effect of the overpopulation of cars on the road is safety. It’s a simple equation, the more cars, the more people getting hit by cars. To me, there’s no other way to reduce the number of deaths. And this has only gotten worse throughout history, “Between 1913 and 2017, the number of motor-vehicle deaths in the United States, which include all types of motor vehicles including passenger cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles increased 858%, from 4,200 deaths in 1913 to 40,231 in 2017. However, the role cars play in daily life is vastly different now than when tracking began” (Injury Facts). Since more and more people are driving, and the population in our country is only rising, it’s almost unavoidable to reduce this number of deaths by automobiles.
From this information, I’ve been able to gather my thoughts on the situation. I’m not trying to tell people to stop driving because that’s ridiculous. I drive all the time, to school, to practice, to friends’ houses. It’s just a part of my life now. It’s simply unavoidable. But we could also make an effort to change that, by increasing the use of public transport there will be less traffic, fewer cars on the road meaning fewer accidents. The equation’s simple.
