It still amazes me that very few people in western society realize the destructive nature of the automobile. Nevermind the pollution, the horrible urban and suburban planning, the waste of money and natural resources... let's just think of the human cost.
It's become de rigeur (I know words in other languages) to have the downsides of an overdependence on cars accepted as "a fact of life". I am increasingly looking at car ownership and operation like I do gun ownership and operation. You should have to prove that you're responsible and attentive and not on weird medications or have a criminal record, not that you can guide a car down a road without hitting buildings or horses on the day of your drivers test (the only one you'll have to take in Ontario until you turn 80...).Some people would call me an anti-car tree-hugging whackjob for saying these things. That's okay.
It's interesting that if I carried a gun with me wherever I went, acting irrational with it and threatening people's lives with it every day, I'd be considered a white-trash redneck trailer-trash who would be in jail (and rightly so), but driving around in a car wherever I go, narrowly missing pedestrians and cyclists (where one mistake or incident can easily crush someone) is considered "normal".
I think the whackjob moniker is misplaced.
Discuss this topic and a lot more on the BikingToronto Forum
