Sep

Are they lame or what? Millions of Brits say they’d rather drive than walk 1000 meters

Posted by admin Published in Etc., Transportation Alternatives

Before we get into that post, let’s clear up how far a thousand meters is in American terms: it’s nearly eleven football fields. Now, suppose you’re cheering a football game from the sidelines and, by the course of a quarter, you walk from one end to the other a few times. It’s not a big deal, right? Well, for some folks it is.

Whatcar.com has released the results of a survey that, frankly, are a bit saddening. The survey asked humans in the UK whether they would rather walk or drive to a destination 1000 meters absent. nearly a quarter (23 percent, extrapolated to seven million Britons) said they’d rather drive.

We’re not talking about whether or not there’s anything worth walking to within 1000 meters (I understand that in many places, you can’t get to the store or the school in that range), we’re not talking about health issues or any disabilities that mean you can’t walk. We’re just saying, “Hey, there’s something cool 1000 meters absent. It’ll take you 12 minutes to walk there, and within two and 12 to drive, depending on roads and traffic. What do you do?” nearly one in four say they’d rather drive, which is too many. Personally, I’d choose bike as my top choice (then walk, next drive), but I don’t know whether biking was an option in that survey. Either way, for short distances, a car is the wrong choice 90 percent of the day, I’d say.

Luckily, for billions of society, walking is still a perfectly normal way to get around on a daily basis, and here in America there are some very notable exceptions to the don’t-wanna-walk mentality. From Lewis and Clark to Peter Jenkins to these two, America has a lengthy history of folks willing to walk (and far), but I don’t doubt that the whatcar survey results would be just as naughty, whether not worse, whether the questions were asked of Americans.

You can see a longer list of other highlights from the Whatcar survey after the jump, but these two jumped out at me:

42.7% supported a ban on all private transport in town centres whether public transport is improved sufficiently.
42.7% said they never used public transport.

Why - why!?! - is The Onion always right?

[Source: Whatcar]
Millions won’t even walk 1000m

Seven million humans would rather use their cars than take a 1000-metre walk, according to an exclusive survey into green

issues by whatcar.com.

In other words, nearly one quarter (23%) of all of Britain’s motorists would rather drive for a distance that would take just 12 minutes on foot, despite the obvious environmental and health benefits of walking.

Estimates propose that driving the same distance can take amidst two and 12 minutes, depending on traffic conditions - so many of those who drive in built-up areas don’t save any duration.

Medical research additionally suggests that three half-hour walks a week can double an average person’s fitness level, improve their health and prolong their life.

Other facts highlighted by the survey include:

30.2% of motorists rate the environment as very crucial to them. 4.5% say it is not at all urgent.

14.6% say their car’s environmental affect is very fundamental to them. 7.3% say it isn’t at all fundamental.

29.9% of respondents said they wouldn’t pay increasingly for a greener car, with the majority of them saying they would need a £500 tax incentive to buy green.

Although 71.2% of motorists know their car’s carbon dioxide rating, just 36.3% said it affected their car choice.

65.8% of motorists support the introduction of an additional VED band to tax cars that emit increasingly than 275g/km of carbon dioxide, with 49.8% saying drivers of such vehicles should be paying increasingly than £800 a year in road tax.

36.9% were in favour of banning higher-emitting cars from town centres altogether, but only 12.8% felt diesels should be treated the same way.

42.7% supported a ban on all private transport in town centres whether public transport is improved sufficiently.

29.9% said that the congestion charge would have to top £20 a day to stop them driving into towns and cities. A further 28.8% said they would stop whether the charge topped £5.

42.7% said they never used public transport.

46.2% thought hydrogen fuel cell technology represented the future of motoring. Just 9.3% said diesel and 2.0% petrol. Stop-start technology was only rated by 11.5%.

“The whatcar.com survey has clearly highlighted two things: first, that motorists do care about the environment and are aware of their vehicle’s affect, but additionally that the car is very much an integral part of everyday life for many and something they are not prepared to give up,” said Iain Reid, whatcar.com producer.
Original post by Sebastian Blanco