Cars and trucks now outnumber drivers

[prolesunited]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For the first time, the typical American family has more vehicles in the garage than licensed drivers in the house, according to the Transportation Department's latest national survey.

There are 107 million U.S. households, each with an average of 1.9 cars, trucks or sport utility vehicles and 1.8 drivers, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported. That equals 204 million vehicles and 191 million drivers.
<snip>

"We're taking many short trips we used to make on bike or on foot," said James Corless, spokesman for the Surface Transportation Policy Project, a group that advocates balanced transportation.
<snip

The survey also found 8 percent of U.S. households don't have cars.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/08/29/outnumbered.by.cars.ap/index.html


Is this because Americans love their cars or because a lack of public transportation suitable walking/biking paths or poor community design?

Another interesting not is that these stats include 8% of U.S. households don't even have vehicles, making the ratio even higher.

[kimchi]

1. guilty as charged.

Four cars now (we got rid of one by donating it) and 2 drivers. None of them, however, are newer than 96. And my husband refuses to pay a mechanic so we need to have at least one in working order at all times while he takes his good sweet time doing maintenance. One is a classic BMW that we never drive and haven't gotten around to taking off the tags. Oh, and there's a classic 1950's MG in pieces in the back, too.

That could be a lot of the number. I remember my parents doing the same thing. Three or four cars, one of which was always being worked on because we could never afford to buy one new one that worked perfectly.

My sister's family has 3 adults and four cars. To be fair, 2 of the cars are company cars. Also many people probably have cars for each parent, and a big SUV or minivan for trips. I can understand that.

[Aristus]

2. Not surprised. My nineteen-year old step-son had at one time

no less than THREE cars. Boggles the mind.

[prolesunited]

3. On two related notes

Urban Sprawl Makes Americans Fat, Study Finds
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - You drive to work, you drive your kids to school, you drive to the grocery store -- no wonder you have put on a few pounds. U.S. researchers said on Thursday they had quantified the price of living in sprawled-out American communities and weight gain leads the list -- six pounds on average, to be precise.

Their findings, published in special issues of the American Journal of Public Health and the American Journal of Health Promotion, are aimed at urban planners, county and city councils and other groups involved in laying out communities.

"We found that U.S. adults living in sprawling counties weigh more, are more likely to be obese and are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than are their counterparts in compact counties," Reid Ewing of the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland told reporters.

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=3353503

TRAIL FUNDING UNDER FIRE IN CONGRESS!!
On July 24, in the House Appropriations Committee, an effort to fully restore Transportation Enhancements (TE) funding was narrowly defeated. Trail advocates and supporters now face a major fight on the floor of the House of Representatives when Congress returns from its August recess after Labor Day.

Under current law, the federal government provides approximately $620 million annually or Transportation Enhancements (TE) activities, with 55% of that amount funding trail, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. On Friday, July 11, the Transportation & Treasury Subcommittee of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee voted to completely eliminate TE funding for Fiscal Year 2004. At the same time, the subcommittee voted to increase highway spending to $34.1 billion -- an astounding $4.8 billion more than President Bush's request. A vote by the full House Appropriations Committee was held Thursday July 24th. RTC is again leading the fight to save Transportation Enhancements from those who would turn back the clock and change our nation's transportation legislation into a highways-only bill.

http://www.railtrails.org/whatwedo/policy/tea21b.asp

[femmecahors]

4. Just finished my 2 1/2 hour trail walk . . .

through the French countryside. The old people here walk and ride bikes to do their errands. That's why they aren't fat and they live so long (the French Paradox, maybe it's the wine, but my 99 year old neighbor told me it's the physical exertion.)

In the states, my husband and I dont' own cars . . . we walk or take the bus (San Francisco). We have a car here but don't drive it much . . . gas is really expensive.

The U.S. needs to have $6 a gallon gasoline . . . that will solve the obesity problem!

[haele]

5. I think it's a couple issues here -

First, community planning is a large part of it. In "modern communities" of housing projects and business parks, most families are stuck with the choice of small, expensive "inconvienience stores" or a trip to some sort of shopping center that's at least a 15 mile trip to and fro to find the nearest economical grocery stores, pharmacies, libraries, community services or any other common destination for errand running, most families are stuck with needing a truck-like vehicle for hauling a day's worth of errands as well as a small economical vehicle for daily runs - if they think they can afford both.
Poor community transportation is part of the problem of community planning - there are never enough busses, trains, drivepool vans so that those who live in the less expensive outlaying areas of most business centers can reasonably use public transportation to get to and from work.

Another issue is that many middle-class types who have a bit of money will buy "a toy" - a truck to haul ATV's for vacation and weekends, a camper van, etc. These vehicles are not normally driven. Additionally, a working couple will generally have two vehicles, as in many cases it's not possible for one to take the other to work then go on to their own job across town.

The final issue is that people in the service sector or self-employed contractors generally have a vehicle that's specifically for work, the travelling salesman/customer service rep, the home-based repair or engineering contractor - people who work in these businesses need to have the ability to just "get up and go" at a moment's notice with a complete set of tools to do the job and don't have regular work schedule that would allow them to use public transportation.

And of course, people forget about fleet vehicles - y'know, rentals and company vehicles, which may very well be kept at a employee's home instead of in a fleet yard.

If we get rid of suburban sprawl and return to the days of store-loft housing, neighborhoods interspersed with local businesses, and compact, denser urban development, and leave the rural areas to farming and the occasional "get away from it all" recreational facilities, a lot of these issues would go away. But that would require a major change in community planning and buisness practices - that may not be economically practical in many established locations.

Haele

[R Hickey]

6. We're the only country on earth with so many fat people, by far.

We're fat mainly because we no longer walk anywhere. I see more fat people in one trip to any all-you-can-eat-buffet than I've ever seen on any entire trip abroad.

[Mackay]

11. Ireland is a close second

I'm of Irish origin... and went there this summer. Fantastic place and people but it is the only other country I have ever been to that rates anywhere near the U.S. in terms of obesity.

[0007]

7. Miland Texas cam prove this to be true

*

[Skittles]

8. DO SUVs NOW OUTNUMBER ASSHOLES ?

JUST CURIOUS.

[prolesunited]

9. No, I think its a 1-to-1 ratio

Every asshole has one. :evilgrin:

J/K Not intended as a slam against any DUers who own SUVS. [/i}

[Skittles]

10. LOL!

I LIKE IT!

~definitely intended as a slam by Skittles~