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The sense of security that comes with keeping a gassed (or charged) vehicle in my driveway doesn't seem like it will go away any time soon. If a family member

by mmcru 7y ago

The sense of security that comes with keeping a gassed (or charged) vehicle in my driveway doesn't seem like it will go away any time soon. If a family member needs to go to the emergency room, or a natural disaster strikes, Uber isn't going to cut it.

inawarminister 7y ago
If natural disasters strike, is it possible for you to bug out without getting stuck with thousands or hundreds of thousands other car users as well? Just asking, because a backup secondary route either on foot or smaller off-road vehicles (motorbikes or just regular bikes) might be prudent for planning. But yeah, many time-sensitive events are able to be easily solved with our own cars. There's a flexibility that is absent when relying on public transit and ride-sharing. Does it worth the trade-off of maintaining your own vehicle and it's attendant issues? In my opinion, it is. For some others, it isn't. It would be better if cars can become a non-essential for everyone in the world though, or at least the urbanites. Less traffic jams for the rest of us.
- shrimp_emoji 7y ago
  https://imgur.com/fLNs3k0 https://imgur.com/fLNs3k0 Have you ever considered how trains are our best implementation of the abstract idea of efficient, terrestrial mass transit?
ip26 7y ago
However, you can obtain that security without one and a half cars per adult in the family. If you can figure out how to bike, walk, or bus most of the time and your significant other can too, you get nearly all of that security with one vehicle per family and a lot of money to put towards other things.
XorNot 7y ago
That car doesn't need to be replaced every 3 years though, especially if new features aren't being added.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  A lot of people live a "payment" lifestyle. They'll just keep buying/leasing new cars every few years. If something's gonna break it's gonna be the CPO market.
Agathos 7y ago
If a material disaster strikes, my local highways will be locked up harder than a diamond.
- dkersten 7y ago
  Nevermind a natural disaster, rush hour traffic seems to be enough...
Brakenshire 7y ago
You call an ambulance if there’s a medical emergency.
- rland 7y ago
  You could purchase a used car outright for the cost of 1 ambulance ride in the United States.
  - nineteen999 7y ago
    That is interesting, in Australia it is the same by default, but many people (especially those with families or sick relatives living with them) have Ambulance Cover which is a fairly nominal fee covering your whole family, in which case the cost of an ambulance is vastly reduced.
  - _bxg1 7y ago
    Don't know why you got downvoted; this is absolutely true.
  - Sharlin 7y ago
    "There are problems in our society that we circumvent by things that cause even more problems because we can't coordinate to solve the original problems."
  - Brakenshire 7y ago
    You could well be right, but the article is about a global trend, car sales in the US by contrast seem to be stable in the last few years, perhaps for these kind of reasons. There are a lot of places in the developed world that have a different context from the US in terms of car culture or healthcare costs. I’m not sure what’s actually creating the 3% drop, though, the evidence in the article for a lifestyle shift seems to be relatively weak outside of the charts they give for the EU.
_bxg1 7y ago
Sure, but if you only use your own vehicle for those kinds of situations it could last your entire adult life (and your partner wouldn't need a separate one).

by mmcru 7y ago

inawarminister 7y ago

If natural disasters strike, is it possible for you to bug out without getting stuck with thousands or hundreds of thousands other car users as well? Just asking, because a backup secondary route either on foot or smaller off-road vehicles (motorbikes or just regular bikes) might be prudent for planning. But yeah, many time-sensitive events are able to be easily solved with our own cars. There's a flexibility that is absent when relying on public transit and ride-sharing. Does it worth the trade-off of maintaining your own vehicle and it's attendant issues? In my opinion, it is. For some others, it isn't. It would be better if cars can become a non-essential for everyone in the world though, or at least the urbanites. Less traffic jams for the rest of us.

shrimp_emoji 7y ago
https://imgur.com/fLNs3k0 https://imgur.com/fLNs3k0 Have you ever considered how trains are our best implementation of the abstract idea of efficient, terrestrial mass transit?

ip26 7y ago

However, you can obtain that security without one and a half cars per adult in the family. If you can figure out how to bike, walk, or bus most of the time and your significant other can too, you get nearly all of that security with one vehicle per family and a lot of money to put towards other things.

XorNot 7y ago

That car doesn't need to be replaced every 3 years though, especially if new features aren't being added.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
A lot of people live a "payment" lifestyle. They'll just keep buying/leasing new cars every few years. If something's gonna break it's gonna be the CPO market.

Agathos 7y ago

If a material disaster strikes, my local highways will be locked up harder than a diamond.

dkersten 7y ago
Nevermind a natural disaster, rush hour traffic seems to be enough...

Brakenshire 7y ago

You call an ambulance if there’s a medical emergency.

rland 7y ago
You could purchase a used car outright for the cost of 1 ambulance ride in the United States.
- nineteen999 7y ago
  That is interesting, in Australia it is the same by default, but many people (especially those with families or sick relatives living with them) have Ambulance Cover which is a fairly nominal fee covering your whole family, in which case the cost of an ambulance is vastly reduced.
- _bxg1 7y ago
  Don't know why you got downvoted; this is absolutely true.
- Sharlin 7y ago
  "There are problems in our society that we circumvent by things that cause even more problems because we can't coordinate to solve the original problems."
- Brakenshire 7y ago
  You could well be right, but the article is about a global trend, car sales in the US by contrast seem to be stable in the last few years, perhaps for these kind of reasons. There are a lot of places in the developed world that have a different context from the US in terms of car culture or healthcare costs. I’m not sure what’s actually creating the 3% drop, though, the evidence in the article for a lifestyle shift seems to be relatively weak outside of the charts they give for the EU.

_bxg1 7y ago

Sure, but if you only use your own vehicle for those kinds of situations it could last your entire adult life (and your partner wouldn't need a separate one).