The Surprising Downside to Driving

Honest thoughts on a life centered around automobiles

The car is the perfect transportation device.

It takes me anywhere, anytime I want, effortlessly and fast. I can carry things, bring friends/family, and stay warm and dry in the process no matter the weather. When I’m not using it, I can pretty much ignore it: no feeding it or cleaning up after it like a horse.

Sure, there are a few downsides: it needs fuel, and that requires a vast supply chain of oil and refineries and shipping and wars, and it eventually wears out and creates nasty waste, not to mention the pollution of building and operating it in the first place. But those things aren’t my problem. I just have to fill the tank and, occasionally, maybe change the oil.

And sure, statistically it’s dangerous. But I wear my seatbelt and have airbags and anti-lock brakes and the roads are wide and well-engineered. I’ve been driving for years and only very rarely have had any scary incidents. I feel safe.

Now, of course, my car doesn’t do me much good without a linear sea of asphalt (also from oil) upon which to drive it. And if I want to get out and leave it unattended somewhere, I need a safe, unobstructed parking area at my destination. But my city pays for the roads and stop lights and usually even a place for me to park.

I get all the good things, and almost all the bad things are someone else’s problem.

There’s really only one other issue: cars take space.

A lot of space. In order for me to live my life by automobile, I need a driveway and, ideally, a garage. But that’s no big deal. I like having a bit more space. I live a suburban lifestyle, after all.

I also need a road that connects to my house, ideally wide enough for some extra street parking so others can visit me. Not a problem, though, the city will pay for that. I don’t want to be isolated, after all.

All the places I go need parking lots, too. Every store, office, restaurant, church, park, bar – they all need a place for me and everyone else to safely leave our cars. Wherever we work, too. Ideally very close so we don’t have to walk much, and ideally free. Again, this is not a problem. Just build where land is cheap on the outside of town. I don’t mind driving a bit further.

Oh, and we need a lot of space for car-related infrastructure, too. Gas stations in town and around it. Muffler shops and tire stores and oil change centers. And car dealers, of course, with a decent inventory out in front so we can look at each one when shopping.

All this stuff takes a lot of space, including the wide roads that let us all drive between each place quickly.

But that’s not my problem, right?

Well, okay, there’s one tiny thing that bugs me. It’s when I get out of my car.

Where am I? Usually, in a parking lot.

Next to a wide road with cars whizzing by.

The traffic is noisy. I worry about my kids – are they staying close to me?

I probably only parked here to visit one place. I’ll have to get back in my car to go anywhere else.

My destination is useful, but I have no desire to hang out here longer than necessary.

To be honest, I don’t really want to be here.

In fact, most of my town is full of places like this. Places where I don’t really like to be.

That’s why I spend most of my free time at home. My suburban neighborhood is comfortable and quiet. I don’t really see my neighbors that much, as everyone drives right into their garage in front and enters their home that way. Each house is pretty far from the next. But everyone has big lawns to mow, so sometimes you see each other doing that.

We all love our old Main Street, but parking there is terrible. The older buildings are close together, many with apartments on top and shops below. The bars there are really fun and in summer some of the restaurants and cafés have sidewalk patios. It can be great just to hang out there and people-watch, as you never know who you’ll bump into. That’s where all the town events happen; the parades, the seasonal fairs, the art shows.

But most of our town isn’t like that. And thank goodness! Where would people park?

Yep, I’m really glad I have a car. It would be awful to get around without one – having to walk or bike, or wait by the noisy roadside for a bus! Maybe that works for those urban millennials, but in this town, I can’t imagine any other way to live. I mean, just look around… the place is basically built for cars. So why would I ever give up driving?

Photo Credit: Blake Wheeler on Unsplash

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