Advantages to Kicking the Motoring Habit
Last week, I posted an article about some of the disadvantages of going car less. Here are some of advantages to kicking the motoring habit.
- Save over $10,000 a year in automobile expenses — insurance, fuel, purchase of a vehicle, repairs, etc. This would mean I could grow my savings quicker, be closer to being able to afford to move out of New York and buy my own land.
- Avoid spending money on a new automobile that within 15 years is going to be crushed, with all but the steel going to the landfill as automobile fluff — over a ton of waste for many vehicles.
- Dramatically reduce my carbon footprint, make a vote with my pocketbook against new wider roads, especially in our our urban areas.
- Not have the worries surrounding motoring — expensive breakdowns and crashes, getting stranded somewhere far in the wilderness — what’s that mystery noise or that wobble I feel? I spend too much time worrying about breaking down, even if that’s not fully rational.
- Protect myself from the risks of motoring — serious crashes, injuries, fines, arrests, jail and even prison for the increasing violations and criminal penalties surrounding owning a car and choosing to motor in modern day New York.
- Not having to find time out of my busy schedule to find a shop to repair and preform routine maintenance on my truck.
- More physical exercise biking and walking. Right now, I walk a lot, but I haven’t bothered to fix my bicycle as between walking and public transit, along with an occasional trip in my truck, I can get around just fine.
- Learn more about my community, see more local parks, find more things to take in and enjoy locally, while getting there by healthy means — bicycling or walking. Imagine how nice going down to the river after work to fish would be if I bicycled there? When your not motoring, place has more meaning.
