In this day and age, a great many individuals have grown increasingly reliant on their automobiles for daily domestic, social, and professional needs. However, unrestricted car usage can result in a wide range of challenges, namely severe health crises and the growing number of traffic accidents. I nevertheless believe that addressing these issues is by no means insurmountable, even without disincentivising people from using cars.
There is no denying that using cars without any limitations leads to a host of problems. Chief among them is the increasing severity of serious health-related issues. In cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, for instance, inhabitants have been rendered increasingly susceptible to respiratory diseases after long periods of living in heavily polluted environments, primarily due to large amounts of exhaust fumes from countless fossil-fuel-powered cars. Equally concerning is the rising number of fatal collisions occurring on the road due to unlimited use of cars. As underage individuals, reckless drivers, and those without a driving license commute using cars, they risk undermining the well-being of not only other commuters but also pedestrians because of insufficient knowledge of traffic regulations and inadequate driving skills, thereby significantly compromising road safety.
Suppressing car usage can indeed tackle these problems to a certain extent, since such a policy may contribute to a decline in the number of road users relying on this type of vehicle. However, suppression alone merely scratches the surface and could even prove counterproductive, especially since alternative vehicles, such as electric cars, have yet to be widely adopted as substitutes for traditional cars. Travelling, for example, could be far more problematic for families with the elderly and children if they are discouraged from using cars. Commuting to work, likewise, could also become increasingly troublesome when workers whose occupations require frequent mobility are encouraged to shift towards other, more inconvenient means of transport, such as bicycles. These practical constraints suggest that outright discouragement of car usage is neither feasible nor socially desirable. This is where other solutions prove their worth. These initiatives could involve prohibiting underage individuals from participating in road traffic and imposing more rigorous assessments on formerly qualified drivers through periodic re-examinations, while also subjecting people breaking traffic rules to harsher penalties. Such measures would not only mitigate the risks of irresponsible and careless driving, thereby lowering the likelihood of traffic accidents, but also alleviate air contamination and environmental degradation by reducing unnecessary vehicle circulation and easing congestion on urban roads.
In conclusion, I maintain that alarming health challenges and the increasing number of road accidents may stem largely from unlimited use of cars. However, these problems are far from intractable, despite not depending solely on discouraging car usage, thanks to institutional interventions.