Cars and trucks cause more than half the region's ozone problem. Motor vehicles also cause half of New York's toxic air pollutants, including fine particulate emissions at street level from diesel trucks and buses. Auto pollution attacks the human respiratory system, causing serious health problems, especially among the young and old for people suffering from chronic respiratory disorders such as asthma. Asthma is the biggest cause of school absenteeism in the nation and is several times more prevalent in New York's low-income areas. Diesel particulates are known to cause cancer.
Acid rain eats away at New York's buildings along with harming the region's wildlife and food crops.
While new car technology is helping to reduce tailpipe emissions, these gains are overwhelmed by the increase in car and truck use. Any action that will increase auto use will undermine this goal. Traffic noise is perhaps the most pervasive automotive irritant to most New Yorkers. It is hard to find a place you cannot hear cars and trucks roaring by. The result is loss of sleep, inability to concentrate, reduced productivity and general irritability.