The Automobile’s Reign of Terror

We humans tend to believe that we rule over this planet and that we are the pinnacle of evolution. But imagine an advanced extraterrestrial civilization catching a glimpse of the Earth. What would be their conclusion? Who is the true ruler of this planet? No, I’m not talking about ants, unicellular organisms, or cats. The true rulers of our world are the massive death traps of steel we call cars.

Invasive species

Take a look out your window. How many cars can you see? I did a quick count and came up with an impressive number of 37. The number of people I could see at the same time was… three. Although I live on a side street near the center of a medium-sized city, I’m sure the figure is much higher for many, if not most of you. Congratulations to those who could not see any cars; I envy you.

But how many cars are there in the world? First and foremost, we don’t know precisely because there are so many. We can, however, make an educated guess. According to current estimates, there are approximately 1.4 billion cars in the world. If you parked them in a row, with an assumed average length of 4.5 meters per car, the line would go around the world about 480 times. The ultimate traffic jam.

According to current estimates, there are approximately 1.4 billion cars in the world.

Until recently, the clear frontrunner was, of course, and how could it not be, the United States. A country entirely designed for cars. In 2020, approximately 276 million automobiles were counted in the United States. There will be even more now. However, after years of catching up, China finally managed to overtake the US in 2017, and the land of the red dragon now holds the dubious honor of being the top car nation, with around 300 million vehicles. As the graph below shows, China is also the world’s largest producer of automobiles. Congratulations.

China currently produces the vast majority of automobiles in the world. The United States and Japan are in second and third place, respectively. Source: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Let’s put ourselves back in the shoes of the extraterrestrial visitors. We would conclude that automobiles are an invasive species. From the nineteenth century to the present, the world’s car population has grown from zero to 1.4 billion. Extremely impressive. The automobile appears to have found its ecological niche. Cars, like any other invasive species, have drastically altered and permanently affected their environment as well as the habitats of other species, regardless of the losses. Absurdly enough, we humans even willingly reduce our own living space to increase that of cars. This is where my evolutionary analogy falls short. There is just no rational explanation for that behavior.

Absurdly enough, we humans even willingly reduce our own living space to increase that of cars.

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Habitat

Cars are so ubiquitous and omnipresent that we often no longer even notice them. They whiz around us day in, day out, consuming our oil and polluting our air. Our cities are designed to accommodate them. Roads and parking lots take up a large portion of urban space. We humans have to be content with narrow sidewalks and are dependent on traffic lights or the goodwill of drivers when crossing streets. This is relatively well regulated in most Western countries, but anyone who has ever been a pedestrian in a busy Asian city knows how dangerous it can be. Cars always take precedence, and we must adapt.

We live in a world of cars. We build our houses and parks between streets and parking lots. Source: Pixabay

Use Google Earth to explore your hometown or any larger city. The automobile’s dominance will be unmistakable. They shoot through our cities at speeds of more than 50 kph and between them at speeds of more than 100 kph (in Europe that is). Inhuman speeds. Anyone who has studied Newton understands the forces that would be released in the event of a sudden stop, i.e. a collision. We must be cautious not to disturb them. We’ve even devised a comprehensive and complex set of rules that tell us exactly how we should act to avoid obstructing cars as much as possible. Sometimes we don’t make it in time, and the result can be death. Unfortunately, as we will see, this happens all too frequently.

Sometimes we don’t manage to avoid cars in time. The consequence of this is often death.

If you’ve ever cycled in a city, you’ll understand how dangerous it can be. Although there are efforts around the world to increase bicycle traffic and create separate bike lanes and zones, it is still mostly the case that you balance your way through heavy traffic and hope not to be overlooked or test a car driver’s patience. Many also fail to maintain the prescribed distance when overtaking, which can have disastrous consequences for cyclists, who are the most vulnerable road users. Not to mention the frequently non-existent separation between bike lanes and parked cars, with the constant risk of drivers opening their doors. In a nutshell, we have sacrificed our cities, living space, and well-being for the sake of mobility. Was it worth it?

In this article we discuss the devastating consequences of paving our planet with roads in more detail. Definitely check it out:

Death toll

Aside from the loss of our cities, the destruction of our environment through road and parking lot construction, and dramatic levels of pollution and climate-changing emissions, there is one major factor that many do not consider or are unwilling to consider. Every year, cars claim the lives of millions of people. Millions of people? Really? Yes, really. According to official figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), every year around 1.35 million people die, and another 4.4 million are injured in traffic accidents. 1.35 million people! That equates to 3,700 people per day. A terrifying number. Here are a few more anything-but-fun-facts from the WHO:

• Traffic accidents are the world’s eighth leading cause of death.
• For people aged five to 29, traffic accidents are the leading cause of death.
• Every 24 seconds, someone is killed in a traffic accident.
• Pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists account for 54 % of these deaths.

We accept these 1.35 million deaths per year and do little to prevent them.

Pretty scary facts, right? And yet we hardly hear anything about it in the news or read dramatic calls from politicians to immediately reduce road traffic. We accept these 1.35 million deaths and do little to prevent them. We place far too much value on our mobility and standard of living.

Of course, automobiles have become significantly safer over the years, and the death toll in Western countries has been steadily declining. Despite this, 1.35 million people die on the roads each year! It’s difficult to imagine how many people died, say, fifty years ago when cars were significantly less safe, and how many people overall died in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As expected, there is also a clear disparity between highly developed Western countries and developing countries in terms of death rates. The graph below demonstrates this very clearly:

The annual number of deaths from road accidents per 100,000 people. There is a clear disparity between the Western world and the rest of our planet. Source: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/death-rates-road-incidents

Why did we let this happen?

The automobile changed the world and, in turn, made our current prosperity and luxury possible. A world without automobiles appears unthinkable — and it is. Unfortunately, there is currently no viable substitute. I live in a medium-sized city with reasonably developed public transportation and still own a car. Spontaneous trips, buying groceries or furniture, driving to work, or visiting relatives out of town. The car is essential. Its comfort is unrivaled. Consider the following two alternatives for getting to a specific location in my city:

• Car: 10 minutes to destination, right outside the door or in the warm garage, comfortable, climate controllable, storage space, privacy.
• Public transport: 25 minutes to destination, have to walk to the station, have to wait for the bus/tram/train in various weather conditions, possibly overcrowded and no available seat, no space for bags or shopping, stress and risk of infection from other passengers.

The decision is simple. If you have the option, you choose the car. As long as public transport is not massively expanded, as long as cities are designed for cars, people will prefer driving themself. In rural areas, public transportation is often not even an option. Of course, there are other alternatives, such as bicycles or mopeds, but these have their own drawbacks and will never be a complete substitute for automobiles (try transporting a crate of beer with your bicycle — not fun). Especially since the deaths caused by traffic accidents seem, in some ways, intangible and not concrete to us. In the news, we only hear about major traffic accidents. Most deaths from road accidents aren’t even reported — simply because they are so common and ingrained in our society. It’s always others who get into fatal traffic accidents. You are a very attentive, cautious, and safe driver. What could possibly go wrong?

Try transporting a crate of beer with your bicycle — not fun.

The future

So, how do we overcome our addiction to cars? What are the alternatives and what are the prospects for the future? The first small step has already been taken: electric vehicles. The addiction persists. Electric cars will not result in fewer direct road deaths, but they will have some other indirect benefits.

The anticipated reduction in emissions is the most important factor. Electric cars (or, alternatively, hydrogen-powered cars) will make our cities’ air breathable again if they become widely available. Smog and particulate matter levels will be reduced, resulting in fewer respiratory diseases and associated deaths. Not to mention the improved quality of life provided by pure, clean air. Anyone who has ever visited a major Chinese city will appreciate this. Another advantage is the reduced noise pollution. Some urban areas are practically uninhabitable due to the level of street noise. The much quieter electric cars help to alleviate this issue.

Of course, electric vehicles are not exactly environmentally friendly. Battery production, in particular, consumes a lot of resources and pollutes the environment. In short: it’s not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction. A very small step.

Electric cars are a step in the right direction. No more and no less. Source: Pixabay

What will be the next step? Apart from the necessary and unavoidable expansion of public transportation, there is another logical development in terms of automotive technology itself: autonomous driving. Almost all of the deaths listed above can be attributed to human error. Almost all of the 1.35 million annual deaths!

We are all terrible drivers, without exception.

Humans are just unreliable. We make mistakes, forget the rules of the road, run red lights, drive too fast, are aggressive and impatient, ignore weather conditions, get drunk, are easily distracted, and text our best friend while driving. We are all terrible drivers, without exception. Computers, on the other hand, strictly adhere to their programming and can only act in accordance with it. We have all the time in the world to optimize this programming, to account for every possibility, and to have it reviewed by independent government institutions. Self-driving cars will always behave predictably and reliably, potentially saving millions of lives. It’s worth a shot, right?

Autonomous driving will transform our world in unprecedented ways. Source: Pixabay

Self-driving cars will always behave predictably and reliably, potentially saving millions of lives.

Dozens of companies are working on precisely such technologies. Of course, when it comes to self-driving cars, most of us are still skeptical. People, particularly older generations, are always skeptical of new technologies and perspectives. Many people regard driving as a privilege and an absolute right, and they are all, of course, excellent, faultless drivers.

Most countries do not even have fitness-to-drive tests for the elderly. 95-year-olds who are severely visually impaired and have no reaction time whatsoever drive around our streets, endangering schoolchildren and all other pedestrians and cyclists. Young people who overestimate their skills and are inexperienced, drunk drivers, and overtired truck drivers round out the mix. Fortunately, over a sufficiently long period of time, all this skepticism is irrelevant. Ultimately, a profitable technology with significant positive effects will triumph over all distrust and lobbying by certain interest groups. It’s only a matter of time.

Utopia

The paragraphs that follow represent my personal wishes and hopes for the future. It is impossible to predict how the world will actually evolve. We may be able to completely virtualize our jobs and social activities, rendering all modes of transportation obsolete. There may be no jobs at all in the future, and long-distance transportation may become obsolete. In the event that neither of these scenarios occur, my vision looks as follows:

Green and car-free cities. Naive vision of the future? Perhaps. Source: Luc Schuiten, https://enchantedlivingmagazine.com/solarpunks-brave-and-beautiful-new-world/

Cities are not shaped by cars, they are shaped by people. By residential and recreational areas. Green is everywhere.

Cities are completely devoid of roads and automobiles. People can reach any place within 10 minutes by walking or taking public transportation. These means of transport are built almost entirely underground and can be reached quickly via elevators, stairs, and the like. Cities are not shaped by cars, they are shaped by people. By residential and recreational areas. Green is everywhere. Cities have been reclaimed by trees, meadows, and plants. Parks are no longer created, the entire city is a park.

There are no shopping malls, and purchases are conveniently delivered home by drones. The green idyll is punctuated by bars and restaurants. Underground garages with a fleet of self-driving cars can be found on the outskirts, which are also easily accessible by public transportation. These, like public transportation, are free to use. Mobility, like access to the internet, is a human right.

This fleet of self-driving cars transports people from cities to other towns and regions on a drastically reduced number of roads — accident-free, emission-free, and many times faster than today. On the way, you can read a book or engage with your fellow human beings. Large swaths of the country are now national parks and completely devoid of humans. We live healthier, more stress-free, and more sustainable lives. And we are astounded that it was once common to drive stressed and completely exhausted through urban rush hours in a petrol or diesel-powered, air-polluting, and life-threatening vehicle.

One can still dream.

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