It is no secret that America is the land of the Car. Again, I blame the relatively recent social development of America. By and large society arrived here after the advent of the car, and it seems no concessions were made in the drive to further driving. I have in my photo collection a photo of a 6 lane Cul de Sac. When I show it to my friends back home they ask why I took a photo of a car park?
I guess it is only natural in a land in which the car is king, for the people to become its servant, and so it is. I remember the first time a friend offered me a lift in her car from one side of the car park to the other. She didn’t even have the decency to feel guilty about it. Meanwhile, anyone foolhardy enough to walk somewhere is in for a frustrating time of it. It is an offense to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing unless the little green man is on. And he can frequently delay for over 5 minutes before putting in a very brief appearance. And just to add to the experience, the traffic isn’t actually stopped from crossing the pedestrian’s path, although in theory the pedestrian does have the right of way. Anywhere that is built up is littered with traffic lights. In even a relatively short walk one can end up crossing (and thus waiting) many times. It is little wonder that Americans drive almost everywhere.