Every time I take Defensive Driving, I have to think how awful the motoring experience really is.

Motoring is expensive, environmentally destructive, polluting, puts you at constant risk of jail, prison 👮 and fines and often involves dealing with scams and questionable individuals.👺

The assumption is that when I retire Big Red in five years, I’ll go out and buy another car or truck. 🚙 I don’t know though. I could go personal-automobile free and save a lot of money. Use transit and rent only when I really need. Possibly save as much as $100,000 over the next decade by not having auto expenses and greatly reduce my carbon footprint. 👣

I wouldn’t give up my drivers license per se, and I would still rent a car for a week in the summer for a long camping trip. ⛺ But I would instead get a good bicycle 🚲 and hike and bike around town, experiencing more that’s closer to home. Nice weekends I could bike out to the Heldebergs to hammock camp. There are many local parks I overlook for shiner locations in the distance. ⛲

The extra money 💵 saved could go towards saving money to own land and the off grid property I eventually want to own. I’m making steps in that direction but motoring 🏁 not only is expensive it poses a grave safety risk to my future. One mistake behind the wheel and it could all be over.

There may not be much of a future 🌎with climate change but I could make a dramatic change in my life by giving up motoring except for the few times a year I rent a car. Renting is expensive but it’s still a lot cheaper than having a vehicle that is parked a good portion of the year.

I have some time. ⌚ I probably will have Big Red for a few more years, but what comes next isn’t totally clear. But I do see motoring as an expensive threat to my future, something that I should reconsider in the coming years especially if I eventually want to have the resources to own my own land and live the life I actually want to live.