Over the last 20 years, the number of cars in Canada more than doubled. Clearly the car has a very big place in our society. Try to imagine what your life would be like if there were no cars or buses or trucks. It would probably be very different from the way you live today. Most of us depend on road travel for getting to and from work or school, for going shopping, visiting friends, or going on vacation. But if you stop and think about it, we depend on motor vehicles for much more than personal transportation. We also depend on them to get goods to the stores where we shop, to ensure our safety from crime and fire, and to deliver our mail. Our dependence on cars even affects the layout and design of our homes, towns, and cities.

The car is very important in our economy, too. Car manufacturing is one of the biggest industries in Canada and in the world. And there are all kinds of occupations which exist because of motor vehicles. We need people to design and build the roads, enforce the traffic laws, and repair and maintain our vehicles. In addition, people find work as taxi or bus drivers, parking lot attendants, truckers, and car insurance brokers.

In other words, the car provides us with many advantages. But our dependence on motor vehicles also has some major drawbacks. Every year there are hundreds of thousands of car accidents in Canada. One third of these accidents cause injury or death. There is also damage done to the environment through air pollution. The millions of kilometers of roads needed for motor vehicles disturb the natural landscape. Old cars which are no longer useful are difficult to get rid of and create "junk pollution".

So you can see, the car is a very important part of our society, both because of its advantages and because of its drawbacks. To reduce the harmful effects that cars can have, you as a driver have certain responsibilities. This means driving only when you really need to and driving as safely and efficiently as you can. (Taken from the book "Road Worthy" Becoming A Responsible Driver, Ontario Ministry of Transportation and Communication)