Go car free and reduce the world’s car-nage…

Today is car free day when people throughout the world remind us that we do not have to accept a society dominated by the car.

While England & Wales banned smoking in public places earlier this year to protect public health, the damage caused to our health by traffic continues to go under-reported.

George Monbiot (www.monbiot.com) has often written about the reality of our reliance on the car – almost as many people die in road accidents worldwide - 1.2 million a year – as are killed by malaria or tuberculosis.  In addition a further 50 million people are injured.

By the year 2020, the World Health Organisation (http://www.who.int/en/) predicts that death and injury caused by motor vehicles globally will increase by about 65% and become the third biggest cause of death.

And research by WHO earlier this year indicated that thousands of people around the world are dying prematurely from heart disease which is triggered by long-term exposure to excessive noise, including traffic noise. 

In 2006, coronary heart disease caused just over 100,000 deaths in the UK and the WHO study suggests that 3,030 were caused by chronic noise exposure, including exposure to daytime traffic.

The growing damage caused by traffic to our quality of life is growing day by day as figures from the Department of Transport (www.dft.gov.uk) demonstrate:

• road transport currently contributes over 21% of UK emissions
• road transport emissions are predicted to rise by 30 per cent from 1990 to 2020
• traffic is predicted to grow by 40% from 1990 to 2025.

Since selling my car more than four years ago, I am one of the growing number of people who do not have a car – unfortunately the number of people owning a car is also growing!

Without a car, I joined the City Car Club (www.citycarclub.co.uk) and started using public transport as well as sharing lifts with colleagues and friends.

For me it has not only saved me money, it has made life easier in many respects, particularly as I live in the centre of a city where finding a car parking space was nearly impossible at times.

Selling my car was an experiment to see whether I could survive without one – I did and I can not recommend it more highly. I am car free and carefree!