Why Americans Love Their Cars
Americans and their cars. Nowadays, there are more cars in a household than people to drive them, so says the Transportation Department (USA Today, 2003). The report says that there is an average of 1.9 cars, trucks, or sport utility vehicle in every household as opposed to 1.8 drivers per household. Although there has been a decline of number in the of people per household, there has been an increase in breadwinners per household, that is why there has been an increased number of cars. Plus, people do not want to use the vehicles they use for work, when they go to trips during weekends.
According to an article of Los Altos Town Crier published 2 February 2000, Americans with cars that are more than three years old tend to love their cars as much or more than members of their own family. The article was based on “Car Confessions”, a survey made by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company’s new Gemini Automotive Care Centers. Almost 85 percent of vehicle owners in the United States maintain a car, truck, van or SUV that is more than three years old. Of that survey, 25 percent thinks their cars as a member of the family and 38 percent pampers their cars as they do themselves.
Americans’ love for cars is theirs’ alone. The countries where American ancestry can be traced do not reflect it. Europeans may have cars but they do not usually take it to out of town travels. Although some Americans also do this, most others still do the driving.
In the early 1900s, when cars that are affordable even to middle-class people have been available, Americans started to think of cars as a freedom machine. And their driver’s license as a ticket to freedom. This thinking does not only reside in the heads of teenagers. It has also been in the minds of adult drivers. Since then, Americans developed deep affinity to cars. It is because it represents their freedom and their personality. Also it represents the American way, their raw power, dream and the open road (Witsil, 1999).
As Americans love cars and driving, most likely they hate traffic. Everywhere in the world, commuters do not like the hazards of traffic. According to Professor Hani S. Mahmassani, one of U.S.’s traffic researcher from University of Maryland, “If we didn’t have to deal with drivers’ reaction times, we could fit four times as much traffic on the highways (Discovery Times, 2003).” The traffic jams described here are the ones that mysteriously pop up without any cause.
According to Discovery Times (2003), there are five stages in the Anatomy of a Traffic Jam. First, the traffic goes smoothly with fluctuations as drivers change lanes and vary their speed. Second, the number of vehicles in the highway has exceeded the highway’s limit, which is usually 2,400 drivers per lane per hour. Although having less room, drivers still continue to maneuver their cars from lane to lane. Third, as someone changes lane, vehicles behind him would momentarily tap their brakes. Of course, the driver behind the driver would also do the same but takes a fraction of a second to react. Fourth, this slowing effect would roll down the highway, and in a matter of minutes the traffic line may extend to a mile and the route’s capacity to handle traffic diminishes by 40 percent. Lastly, other vehicles would try to get on the road by the ramps, aggravating the situation. This type of traffic jam would not dissipate until other drivers are warned to take alternate routes (Discovery Times, 2003).
Commuters have been demanding the government to improve roads and highways. This is because the thousands of cars that has been flooding the streets especially during rush hours are congesting the current road system that commuters use. But the government suggest that commuters use what the government is offering them, a hassle-free travel by using public transport.
With the current trend of manufacturing cars that are faster than the normal, the situation is adding pressure to the government to build better roads. Although there are faster ways to travel from point a to point b, commuters refrain to get out of their cars. But even if they refuse to leave their cars behind, there is still the problem of increasing speed by cars that are currently manufactured. If these faster cars flock the roads of United States there would be the need to improve the road system by reinforcing the infrastructure.
For the Americans, their love affair with cars is not what keeps them behind a wheel. The feeling of freedom, flexibility and efficiency that these vehicles provide that keeps them there. If for other countries mass transport is their answer to commuters, for the Americans it is the automobile (Jacoby, 1999). Plus the time being alone even for a short time is very much enjoyed by Americans with cars. The drivers of cars enjoy being alone for some time to think of things to be done and what was done already. While others just simply love to the feel the wind blowing their hair, others use the opportunity to think ahead and plan.
Cars are not the only vehicles that Americans love. A growing number of drives now prefer SUVs or Service Utility Vehicles. Although love for SUVs vary, drivers feel safer in SUVs. An example of a former car driver that now prefers to drive an SUV is Chris Contardi (Johnson and Sussman, 2003). She experienced being hit by bigger vehicles twice. The first time she was hit by a drunk driver while driving a small Honda, the second time she was hit by a van in her Geo Storm. Now, she is pregnant and want to feel safer when driving, so she got a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee (Johnson and Sussman, 2003).
Americans love freedom and being independent and they feel that by using cars. First, they were excited to have their driver’s license at the young age of sixteen there was a little independence there. They don’t need their parents to drive them around anymore. Then they have their own car. That means they don’t need to ride mass transit and always be in danger of snatchers, and other street delinquents. But the problem is, as cars and other vehicles in streets and highways increase in number so does the traffic worsen.
Americans refuse to give up their cars and join carpools. San Francisco commutes are trying join carpool to reduce pollution brought about by cars. Pollution brought up by cars comprises 50% of the urban pollution, and cars can even destroy the environment while being made, and it takes up a lot of space. But people should see the advantages of joining a carpool. First, they are less stressing than driving alone. Second, recreational travel gives people time to think and lets them enjoy their travel. Third, they are able to save their gas money and have additional money to spend on other things. This practice is not only being done in the U.S., in Switzerland people have joined various carpool groups and their membership expands by as much as 50% per year.
Joining carpools is one way of reducing the over-dependency of Americans to their cars. It is also a way to lessen pollution brought by car emissions. But Americans’ love for cars would not diminish. The older the people get the more they are infatuated by cars. Americans even have songs for cars. Cars for Americans are considered a part of who they are. It their home while on the road. It provides them an office when out of their regular ones. Their love for cars can be seen on highways. The number of cars and trucks that drives on the highway already passed the 200 million mark.
Since the government cannot seem to come up with a way to get the Americans out of their cars. Even if they will be paying a high price for fuel. They should just release guidelines for choosing an environment friendly car and have them run on natural gas. They can provide incentives for people that run their car on natural gas, this way pollution emitted by cars running on gasoline will lessen. And the guideline for buying cars can eliminate or lessen the sales of cars that have low fuel-efficiency.
There are certain ways in which Americans’ love for car can stay, but still help in reducing environmental hazards brought by low fuel-efficiency cars. The U.S. government has just failed to see or work out a compromise that people will surely follow. Even if they love their cars, others even give their cars name; surely Americans love their health and life more than they do their cars. They can always look into other countries’ ways of encouraging people to have more efficient cars. But they should see to it that what they want to adapt or consider is applicable or can be readily adapted by American car buyers and users.
This love for cars is not really the fault of American people. It is also the fault of those who sell them. They advertise cars too much that they always want more car and not think of its environmental effects. Plus, manufacturers are always coming up with ways to encourage people to buy new designs. They do so by giving new features to their cars.
Instead of advertising new cars. People should think of ways to reduce its use and increase the use of public transport. America may not be boasting about their public transport system. But they sure have a good one. There are subways, BART in California, Amtrak for interstate travel, and bus. These other means of transport may be as comfortable as having to travel in your own car. But if people use public transport often, it can lessen traffic and pollution.
There are still people who do not want to give up their cars. Of course! Because it shows how rich they are. But if your car is stuck in a traffic, people will not see how expensive your car is. But what they will see is that how fast they will be able to go if there are less vehicles on the road. It is not always about the person or the car. Sometimes it is also about how to get there faster, without any hassles and without any pain.
People should really consider on giving up even one of their cars. For the sake of their health and for the good advocacy of providing future generations the chance to experience having clean air to breathe into. But as Darwin Schneider stated in an interview by Frank Witsil (1999): “It gets in your blood.”
Unimproved road system can serve as a barrier to people who have no other means of transport but through the road. People who uses travel between cities and states as a means of bonding with the other members of their family may suffer if during their travels they encounter numerous traffic jams that can upset everyone inside the vehicle. If this situation occur, the driver may become upset and so the mood in the vehicle can change.
Better infrastructures may be the only solution to Americans’ love for cars. But there is another way. Let the current situation be, this is to make Americans leave their automobiles and just use it when really needed. This way public transport will be the only ones to use the road. This might trigger a chain reaction. Since public transport will be used, there will be less cars on the road and less traffic. Also, there will be no need to further improve roadways. But of course, this scenario will unlikely happen.
Giving name to cars and other vehicles, it is only one of the many ways of how Americans show their love for their cars. Aside from this, they give their cars the “spa” treatment once in while, also pampering their cars and being very choosy on who and where they will take their cars for repairs. There may be people in the United States of America that hate cars because they feel uncomfortable in one or that they do not know how to drive. But majority of people want to drive for the feeling that it brings. As was said before, it brings the feeling of freedom and it shows their personality. Also, they love the mobility that cars bring. Being able to travel whenever they want and wherever they want, just as long as they have money for gas.
Wider roads, having several fast lanes, these are solutions that American drivers are suggesting to their government. But, if the government give in to this, people would still continue to buy cars and soon they would again need wider roads. This situation is a never-ending one. The older drivers may give up driving but there are still young people who are eager to drive, and they too will need roads that can accommodate their number of vehicles. What is good about this is the fact that American households are getting smaller in number, which means that if the trend continue eventually, people will only need one car per household. But for now, what Americans can do is hope that tomorrow they will be able to travel with their much loved cars and not face the traffic that awaits them.
Reference:
Jeff Jacoby. (1999). Why Americans would rather drive. Boston, Massachusetts: Globe Newspaper Company.
Frank Witsil. (1999). Americans drawn to automobiles. Augusta, Georgia: Augusta Chronicle.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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