One Less Car in the Silicon Valley

Well after being hit by an unlicensced, uninsured, minor, I decided the time was right to say goodbye to my automobile. The accident totaled my car, while severely distrupting the lives of a family of three who was in another car.

I had already been riding my bike everywhere having surpassed 500 miles a year in the previous year. But now, I also decided I was going to walk and take public transportation. If I was going to give up the car I figured April 2007 was going to mark that turning point. Giving up a car isn't easy, but this appeared to be the event that was going to motivate me to try. Soon after I read books such as Divorce Your Car, and How to live without a car. Of course you cannot escape the warnings with regards to global warming. But my effort was motivated by more than that. Over the last ten years I really began to dislike my relationship with my car, and personal auto ownership in general. The reasons for myself were just beginning to clarify themselves but I have always looked around at our current state of affairs as realized our relationships with our cars were becoming more and more troublesome. In fact I have a list of just some of the things that have grown increasingly detrimental to drivers and society over the last 30 years.

Of course if you have read any of James Kuntsler's books you would instantly know what I'm talking about. Books such as