drivemecrazy

I know many people would say they love driving a car. A greater number would eventually confess that they can’t live without it. However, what kind of world would this be if everyone will feel just the same? Of course, a number will still stand opposite the usual claims.  

It is really interesting to take a closer view of a person who doesn’t think the same way as the entire world. Much more if that person hates owning a car, which is obviously the dream of almost everybody else. I encountered the name of a guy on the net and I suddenly got interested in his reasoning. He’s Ken Ledong, an Asian but I’m not sure what from country he’s from.

He said he hates cars. Perhaps you’ll wonder why. I’ll summarize what he’s been trying to tell. He claims that the time spent while driving is just a wasted time. He said he doesn’t learn anything while driving. He just gets out of the car as the same person who gets inside it earlier. Yes, that was quite a good point. However, I insist that there are things that could be learned that you could never learn when you’re just sitting in the passenger’s seat.  

Another thing that he keeps on mentioning is that driving demands your full attention. He says that he can’t read a book or take a nap while driving unlike if he is a passenger. But let me tell you, it’s a better thing that you don’t read a book or take a nap while driving. Would you agree?  

These are only two of his many reasons for him to hate cars and driving, too. I reacted on this because people always differ in views. However, these are his other reasons that I found no reason to argue:

• Driving is stressful - the mornings I take public transit, I feel much better when I get to work.

• Sitting in a car is bad for you. I hate being cooped up. Human bodies need to move, and poorly designed car seats only make our bodies hurt more. I can't stretch with both arms or twist my spine around, or I'll die.

• Any small diversion of attention, like changing the radio station or yawning, can result in death. Who wants to die for a yawn? The consequences seem all out of proportion to the benefits.

• Cars pollute. They stink and they make walking down the street a miserable experience.

• Cars detract from my freedom. I have to service this thing regularly, feed it gas and oil, etc. It's like I'm the slave to the car. Not to mention the thousands of dollars per year to keep it running.

• Cars have contributed to the suburbanization of society, and the resulting sense of alienation that people feel. People drive home directly from work, into their automatic garage, into their house. They lock the doors, close the windows, and then wonder why they are lonely.

• Cars detract from my ability to choose. There are places that if I want to go there, I *must* drive a car. Why am I forced to do something I don't like? 

• Have you ever noticed the huge fraction of society's resources that goes to service the automobile industry? Look at the number of car commercials on TV and on the radio. Look at the vast amount of land space given to gas stations, repair shops, roads, parking lots, etc. Look at the huge amount of time people spend driving and servicing their cars. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly would call cars a mimetic parasite, something that feeds off the effort and attention of human beings.

• Cars are so dangerous. Whenever someone dies in a plane crash, there's a huge public outcry for the FAA to spend millions of dollars pouring over regulations, investigating, etc. Yet every year 40,000 people die in car crashes in the US alone! And no one seems to care.

Do you hate cars the way he hates it? You may also react if you want.