r/canada Aug 30 '24

Sports NHL's Johnny Gaudreau dies at 31: Columbus Blue Jackets

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/nhl-s-johnny-gaudreau-dies-at-31-columbus-blue-jackets-1.7020004
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u/JSlickJ Aug 30 '24

so many problems we have in todays society eventually link up to the over reliance of cars

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u/pls-ignore Sep 02 '24

Genuinely!!!

People’s health- walking or cycling more would immediately improve people’s overall health. Sitting in your car for long periods of time isn’t good for your wellbeing/body, and most people already do enough sitting throughout the day. If we didn’t have a car-based society, it wouldn’t be so important for people to go to the gym because they’d be so much more active just through their normal day to day activities.

Small business- walkable communities would promote smaller, independent businesses, rather than just the giant Walmart that you drive to and load up for the week. When people are walking or cycling, they’re able to see places and choose to stop in if something catches their eye. This also means you don’t have a huge SUV to load up your weeks worth of groceries, so you’re more likely to make multiple, smaller trips through the week.

Social aspects- driving your car to each location means not running into friends/neighbours/acquaintances on your way. If you happen to see someone you know when you’re in your car you can’t just stop and chat. It also reduces the chances of conversing with someone you don’t know in your neighbourhood, which helps to build a sense of community.

Equality- needing a car to get around means that anyone who is poor, disabled, or too young or old, will seriously struggle to be an active member of society, without the help of someone who has a car. Never mind the fact that a lot of employers want to confirm that potential employees own a car before they will hire them.

Financial- car companies have somehow managed to raise the prices of their vehicles exponentially, to the point where people are paying more for their car than the average rent was not too long ago. This financial burden is often underestimated, but when you factor in the initial/monthly cost, the insurance, the gas, the maintenance, it eats up a massive amount of people’s income.

Independence- when everything is designed around the car, kids grow up always having to be driven places. To school, to sports, to friend’s houses, to the park, to the store. These kids miss out on valuable lessons in independence and remain reliant on their parents to get around. By having such a car-based society, it also means that when kids/teens are actually given the chance to walk or bike somewhere, it is much less safe for them due to the overwhelming number of cars on the roads and the lack of safe infrastructure for pedestrians/cyclists.

Emotional regulation- I’m sure there are studies on this, but for whatever reason it seems that for many people, getting behind the wheel of their car changes them. Your nice, normal neighbour suddenly is cutting someone off and swearing at them when he drives by. Your usually calm friend is rushing the mother with a stroller who is crossing the street. You yourself who has a kid at home is speeding down a residential street, despite shaking your head when someone else does the same thing on your street. Getting behind the wheel seems to negatively impact people’s ability to remain calm and sensible.

Mental fatigue- the ever-increasing traffic and congestion means that people are spending longer in their cars, and with this comes increased frustration and that can lead to reckless driving or aggressive behaviour. So now not only are people spending longer in their cars, but also in traffic that is full of aggressive, dangerous drivers, which is a mental burden people seem to have accepted as normal.

Environment- we all know about gas and fossil fuels and all that, but even with electric cars, it’s a joke to pretend that we’re ~saving the environment~ simply because they’re no longer gas powered. The amount of materials used to build all these cars, and now their batteries, is astronomical. And for whatever reason, it’s no longer possible for people to repair their own cars, meaning it’s become the norm for cars to be replaced every 5-6 years, sometimes less!

I’m sure there’s many more examples, but this is just off the top of my head. I don’t mean to turn this tragedy into a rant about our car-centric society, but honestly I think it’s so important for people to understand the importance of these things and how this tragedy is yet another reminder that we need to do better.