America’s almost complete dependence on automobiles has been a terrible mistake. As late as the 1950s, a large (41)percentage of the American public used mass transit. A (42)combination of public policy decisions and corporate scheming saw to it that countless (43)convenient and efficient urban streetcar and intra-city rail systems were dismantled. (44)Our air quality now suffers from the effects of the pollutants emitted directly from our cars. Our lives have been planned along a road grid--homes far from work, shopping far from everything, with ugly stretches of concrete and blacktop in between.
Developing countries are copying Western-style transportation systems down to the last detail. (45)The problems caused by motorized vehicles in the West are often magnified in developing nations. Pollution-control measures are either not strict or non-existent, leading to choking clouds of smog. Gasoline still contains lead, which is extremely poisonous to humans. (46) Movement in some cities comes to a virtual standstill, as motorized traffic competes with bicycles and pedestrians.
In addition to pollution and traffic jams, auto safety is a critical issue in developing countries.
