[Curt]

I read yesterday that annually an average of 48,000 Americans die on the road as a direct result of automobiles (does not include secondary effects such as illnesses caused by the air pollution created by cars). I found this figure unbelievable so I thought I'd check it out a little more and it is indeed true.

In fact, the figures globally make for appalling reading and yet car ownership is still increasing massively (with many western families owning 2 or even 3 cars per household).

To give some idea of the numbers of people we are talking about, not to mention the numerous people affected by a single tragic death, the estimated number of deaths (in many third world and developing countries many deaths aren't even reported) in 1999 worldwide was 750,000 to 880,000 although this may have been much higher.

The staggering global estimate of road injuries for that year was between 23 million and 34 million.

What I don't understand, and maybe you guys can help me out here, is how come it is still so easy for people who would not be deemed intelligent enough to do certain types of work that may involve a certain amount of unattended responsibility or carry a slight financial risk and yet they are apparently intelligent enough to pass what is in many countries a very simple test and are then allowed to purchase what is no more than a lethal weapon in the wrong hands.

I, personally, would like to see much harsher tests for drivers, much greater taxation for the fuel (predominantly taxing the oil companies) and the cars with the money going into a separate treasury that deals with road safety, improved and regular public transportation and environmental clean up. I'd also like to see testing made compulsory at regular intervals for drivers with the timespan decreasing as age increases. And fines for driving offences should be income linked too.

I'm almost losing hope that what has been created can be reversed and that one day I, or a loved one close to me, will fall victim to this modern, selfish insanity. Can somebody try to relight my hope or is it too late?

[jaf]

Oil ownz us...

[DomStLeger]

Um... theres not much oil left so we won't be driving cars for much longer? Unfortunately thats all I can come up with, and the implications of that scenario are potentially frightening. But I'm an optimist and think it'll all work out in the end. But I suspect we'll have Hydrogen cars next, so it won't make any difference to the accident rate. What we all really need are clean, fast, cheap and efficient public transport systems.

[Kingzjester]

Curt, have you ever been in the ol' US of A? This country has literally been build by the automobile. The very concept of a 'suburb' has been invented due to the car. A person really has no way to get anywhere without an automobile in this country. That is why, when you are 16, you take a 20-minute test and you can drive.

There is a rudimentary public transport - which is much, much better in DC than it is down here in the deep south - but nowhere are pedestrians accomodated. If I decided to walk to the closest grocery store right now, I would have to walk by the side of a six-lane highway, or through a forest of gouty oaks and creeping cactussesss.

If cars disappeared, no one in the us would be able to get to work - seeing how everybody works 60 or more miles from where they live.

[Zygomaticus]

This has always been a little fear of mine; whenever I look at numbers like these, or witness an accident first hand, I lose the will to drive.

I'm 16 and a half. I haven't yet applied for a permit. I don't look forward to driving unlike your average teenager. I look forward to a long life.

[Garyos]

Luckily, I live in the city, so I don't have to learn to drive any time soon... Gas is hideously expensive in Norway anyway (because of taxation, like Curt mentioned), and I get by easily with public transport, even though the fares are ALSO friggin expensive...

Uninteresting sidenote: In about five days a new decree in Bergen was going to be set into action, where bus prices were going to be sliced in half on days with high air pollution. A brilliant idea, IMHO, but it was cut short because we recently got a new, more conservative city counsil who aborted it due to the "high cost". This is odd since the bus company (who is owned by the county) will loose an extreme amount of money that they spent on marketing, extra buses, planning, etc, which now won't be used for anything.

[syntheticgerbil]

There wouldn't be so much of a problem if all those bastards with big trucks and SUVs wouldn't drive so goddamn fast, never even touching the fucking blinker, while I'm quivering in fear on FM 1960!

Curses!

[Zygomaticus]

Originally Posted by syntheticgerbil

There wouldn't be so much of a problem if all those bastards with big trucks and SUVs wouldn't drive so goddamn fast, never even touching the fucking blinker, while I'm quivering in fear on FM 1960!

Curses!

Precisely! I'm amiably coasting, fully in the bike lane, on my little bike, and ZOOM goes an SUV right by me knocking the goosebumps out of me! Then I have to slow down, while my heart does the same...

[ragnar]

Public transportation is the way to go. It should be increased A LOT.

[AGA]

In the UK, public transport is really good, although there has been some controversy about the quality of the traintracks in recent years. You can get a train to any decent-sized town, and anywhere that doesn't have a train station will at least have a bus stop or two. The only real problem is that they occasionally run a little late, but it's not unbearable. (This is all in my experience, at least, it may be different in other parts of the countries...)

[Firefoot]

Curt, I recently heard that Germany is very progressive in such things... Here in Holland they take an example of the system to get your license (different modules). Also with safety of tires and stuff Germany is very progressive... So I think many countries can learn from you/them...
Spread the word...

[Curt]

@Kingz: No, I haven't been to the US but I do understand what you mean, and that's disheartening when one takes into account the figures I posted earlier, not to mention that the US has some of the most beautiful natural environments in the World that are all at risk of damage or destruction. I do know that the US is one of the Worlds bggest environmental polluters and that the US idea of automotive mass production was exported all over the world in the name of individual liberties. As the apparent "World leader" (self-proclaimed) in the modern world, the US of all countries should be leading by example in fighting pollution, which they don't. If the richest nation in the world (or it's individual states) can't introduce decent and widespread public tranportation then something is very wrong.

The answer isn't to make cars disappear but to have a long term strategy of making the use of public transportation more worthwhile and financially beneficial, gradually reducing the reliance of private transport except when essential.

@AGA: While I would agree that public transportation in the UK is good up to a point (I can only use Birmingham and London to back this up though, I don't know about smaller cities, towns or villages), there is still huge room for improvement.

Since I moved to Munich I have experienced public transportation on a completely different level. I always thought the buses and trains in Birmingham were dirty and unkept, now I know they are filthy and quite honestly a disgrace, which can only hinder any attempts to lure people back to using public transport. Add to this the vandalism to bus stops and non-existant timetables (again due to vanadalism or a lack of wanting to supply the info) and the car will continue to be the choice of the majority.

Here in Munich (to enhance what Firefoot was saying) the public transport system is superb, although I still here the odd complaint from work colleagues about trains being late - but only 5 or 10 minutes

I am yet to see a bus stop, underground station or train station without an accurate, easy to read timetable. Every bus or train you get on tells you (either via a computer speaker or the driver) what the next stop is. Each bus and carriage has at least two maps of the order of stops for that route displayed. Apart from the very occasional bit of graffiti which doesn't stay there long btw, the buses and train services are extremely clean, not to mention the stations and bus stops.

But I'm not living in cloud cuckoo land here, this transport system only works for two reasons - firstly the dedication of the staff who run and maintain a very efficient system, and secondly the respect and pride that the vast majority of Münchners have for their public services (the Greens form part of the government and so environmental and safety issues are vigorously pursued). Money is a factor but not a major one (Munich is currently broke apparently).

Even the ticket system is hassle free and customers are trusted to buy their tickets from a machine and enter the bus/train with a minimal chance of the ticket being checked (I've had mine checked twice in 2 years). But then, one of the first things you notice in Munich when you come here is how the vast majority (and I'm talking 90-95%) of pedestrians will NOT cross a road until the green man shows, traffic coming or not (recently I was in London for 3 days and I lost count of the amount of times that people walked or ran across on red on busy roads, despite the fact that we had a young lad with us who could have unknowingly followed them - Stefan is 12 but can easily pass for 10 or 11).

Public transport can work extremely successfully with the effort, support and respect of the public. It is the way to go and it is the way to reduce the appalling numbers of innocent victims on the Worlds roads while also strengthening the fight against environmental destruction. I hope more governments will take it more seriously and start to invest in it without thinking how they can profit to satisfy their big financial supporters, it's for their kids benefit too. The onus is very much on the richer, developed nations here.

[Kingzjester]

A friend of mine is in Leeds doing some student exchange. She is amazed at the tidiness of the country, wants to stay there forever. Tells you something about US.