Cars Are A Disaster For Society -- Here Are the Numbers

Most people don't even really grasp how much they really pay for driving when all personal costs are included. Well, the story gets much worse when you consider the EXTERNALITIES of driving, meaning, the total burden car dependency puts on society.

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[ewanherbert]

I live in Japan, one of the biggest car developers in the world, but also a country with possibly the best public transport system out there.
I guess a clever dealer never uses his own product...

[atmly]

My friends and family are so sick of hearing me talk about this subject.

[wdf]

As I've gotten older (31 now driving since 16) I've just noticed how much society tries to push you into scams and debt. The "requirement" of a car, the "necessity" of a credit card etc.

Drivers license fees, insurance, maintenance costs and parts...

I used to buy 2nd hand cars straight from people so I didnt have to make monthly payments and when my last one burst into flames I bought an electric bike and wouldnt trade it for anything.

I'm lucky my town has a sidewalk that runs all the way from my apartment to my workplace and a lot of businesses that I stop at regularly. Yes people still cant drive and dont pay attention to anything other than right in front of them.

My big message is, you dont NEED a car.

[MassiveChetBakerFan]

One of the biggest costs is the unnecessary ugliness of American cities. That alone imposes a massive psychological burden.

[wanderlpnw]

Going between the US and Japan, I always get annoyed when people mention that Japanese are healthy because of the food. They haven't seen the average fried meal people eat in Tokyo. People are healthy because they commute by foot every single day.

[Aggies]

I love annoying all my " you'll never take my car/truck" family and friends with facts I learn from your channel. Please keep making more content. Live your work!

[a_pet_rock]

My family has started avoiding trigger words so that I don't go on long rants about car infrastructure. Doesn't always work though.

[simondunham]

For the sake of consistency, I will now amortize my sneakers, bikes and transit passes on a per mile basis

[J_Stronsky]

12:40 is a really good point. I'm a truck driver, the cost to health when you start doing as many km's as I do is really tangible, and it's undoubtedly present to a lesser degree for all drivers. It's to the point that I set aside a chunk of income each week to staying in shape (good food, gym, massage), so it's a real cost and would be more (as result of poor health costs) if I was lax about it.
Turns out humans haven't evolved for sitting in a chairs all day long.

[karl_margs]

Motorists injuring peds and cyclists not considered an imposed cost is wild considering pretty much the only reason walking and cycling are dangerous is due to motor vehicles.

[FrederickJenny]

I cannot wait to completely ruin Thanksgiving dinner saying that cars are killing our country. (My family loves their cars).

[jenesoleil]

I’m so very tired of essentially being forced to buy a car out of necessity, rather than desire.

[EvocativeKitsune]

Sick and tired of all the optimism as of late. Crush me with the numbers, Ray.

[raleighbevill]

The likelihood of a pedestrian being slain by a car also increases the cost of car insurance. Why dont they add a few more cents for that?

[nicholasbeck]

One of the most American things ever is a 10 lane highway that is extremely accident prone which doubles as a permanent construction site and is lined with accident attorney billboards. It baffles me how anybody can look at it and think “Ah yes, this is how to do it.”

[Skip]

As someone who lives in Canada, the moral of the story is that things suck here just like the U.S., but the difference is we quantify just how much it sucks!

[tomfields]

Old guy here. We KNEW all this 50-60 years ago, but no one cared. We just kept building more and more roads, decimating transit systems and promoting car use every way we could. What a bunch of putzes we are in this country! Idiocracy!!

[fjoa]

Noise isn't considered. We are so used to constant noise pollution cars produce that we don't even take it into account. After traveling far away into the country the delicious silence seems to come as a surprise.

[taar]

I live in a location where everything is conveniently close; an Asian grocery store, Aldi, a shopping mall, McDonald's, and a major train station are all within a 6-minute walk from my place, making it unnecessary for me to own a car. Further distances I do with my e-bike and long distances I hop on a train. Greetings from Zurich, Switzerland.

[d.f.]

Traffic is a trigger for my PTSD due to my experience as a combat driver in a war zone. When I detatched from this part of my culture, the damage to society has become clear to me. I have been kept poor all my life because I love cars. I am also permanently injured from a traffic accident. Its too bad the Netherlands is one of the only places that has realized this problem.