Decreased Driving

In the past, the act of driving was a mandatory ability to possess, but as time progresses, the use of personal cars is declining. The decrease of drivers can be attributed to several events, one such event being the large quantity of greenhouse gas emissions caused by vehicles, especially cars. With society shifting to become less car centered, communities are adjusting accordingly, becoming more compressed to enable walking to ones workplace or a store. Additionally, the lowered use of cars results in a greater usage of more physical methods of transit, such as riding a bike or skating to a destination while saving the money that would have been spent on maintaining a car.

Pollution is an important issue on a global scale, having the potential to drastically impact the lives of both humans and other life forms. A large amount of pollution brings negative health effects upon most living creatures, making it essential to reduce pollution levels for the betterment of the environment. Some may think that cars don't have a large influence on pollution, but "passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe... and up to 50 percent in some car-intensive areas in the United States," (Rosenthal Paragraph 5). Automobiles are responsible for a large portion of greenhouse gasses, as "transportation is the second largest source of America's emissions, just behind power plants," (Rosenthal Paragraph 34). The enormous amount of pollution in some areas of the world even resulted in temporary bans of personal vehicles to reduce the smog, and at one point "Paris enforced a partial driving ban to clear the air of the global city," (Duffer Paragraph 10). As a result of this temporary ban in the previously smog filled city of Paris, "Congestion was down 60 percent in the capital of France," (Duffer paragraph 14).

In order for society to shift away from the use of personal vehicles, distances between destinations must be reduced. There are experimental communities to test the effects of more compact cities, the most drastic being a Vauban, Germany, a suburb without cars. "Vauban, home to 5,500 residents within a rectangular square mile, may be the most advanced experiment in low-car suburban life," (Rosenthal paragraph 6). These compacted cities have homes and stores placed close to one another, eliminating the necessity for a car or other vehicle. "In this new approach, stores are placed a walk away, on a main street, rather than in malls along some distant highway," (Rosenthal paragraph 6). Life within a smaller community saves the residents a lot of time which would have otherwise been spent on lengthy commutes. Additionally, through living in a less spread out society, people are more connected to one another, better learning their neighbors who are closer, while developing a deeper feeling of a community, by living in a close-knit zone. This reduction or even elimination of personal vehicle usage would enable more funds to be put toward public transport or pavement, as opposed to the current setup where "80 percent of appropriations have by law gone to highways and only 20 percent to other transport," (Rosenthal paragraph 9).

Not only does the reduction of car use have environmental, time, and societal benefits, but there are also health as well as economic benefits to be wrought from avoiding car use. When not using a personal vehicle for transportation, other methods must be applied to reach a destination. Among these methods there are choices of public transportation, riding a bike, hiking, skating, and more. By not taking a vehicle and instead commuting by foot or bike, the commuters health improves as a result of the exercise. Many claim that traveling by other methods than a car reduces stress, one such testamony coming from businessman Carlos Arturo Plaza: "'It's a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution,'" (Selsky paragraph 24).

In addition to health benefits, there are also economic benefits, as there is no need to maintain a car when one is not in use.

In conclusion, there are various benefits to not using a car. These benefits range from improving the condition of the environment thorugh reducing pollution, as well as saving money for those not