> > One more reason I'm glad not to have a car-centric lifestyle
> I'm always amazed at this logic.
Not OP and maybe it's just my European showing, but I own a brand-new car yet frequently go 4-5 days without actually driving it. Because going to work and dropping off kids at daycare using a bicycle is literally faster than doing it in a car.
Whenever the issue of cars come up the gaping divide between Europeans and Americans rears its ugly head. It's like someone living at the equator telling the Alaska resident that though they own a winter hat, they rarely feel the need to use it. In many areas of Europe it is not only possible, but convenient to get around without a car. In the overwhelming majority of the United States it's impossible or inconvenient with only a couple of cities (like NYC) where it's even feasible. In fact, a growing number of eateries and coffee places in the USA are solely accessible via the drive through. They don't accept walk in customers at all and have no dining area.
But isnt the problem that america was built by americans to be car-centric? Most americans dont live in the middle of nowhere in a forest cabin or on a ranch. No one is saying individuals in america are bad for using a car when the system is broken. The critic is about the system.
This was a deliberate political decision by the USA. It wasn't an accident and it isn't because of geography.