4 ms·

Possible alternate explanation: Americans, when not heading to work, get in their car for the pleasure of driving. Disproportionate US car ownership - even in a

Possible alternate explanation: Americans, when not heading to work, get in their car for the pleasure of driving. Disproportionate US car ownership - even in areas with abundant public transport - might help support such a theory, as well as generally American attitudes towards driving being an expression of autonomy.

herval 7y ago
Germans are fairly well known for their love for cars, and a lot of folks have cars “for pleasure” (convertibles, sports cars, etc). Autobahns are also insanely fun - you can actually speed up that sport car, unlike here in the US of A. All anecdotal of course, but I would be surprised if that theory has any evidence to support it..
- kube-system 7y ago
  They also have legal requirements for ownership which go way way beyond what most of the US does. I think part of their car culture can be attributed to self-selection bias.
  - herval 7y ago
    I come from a “third world” country, and gotta say the vehicles that are allowed to be put on the street here are shocking. Lost count on how many cars glued together with duct tape I’ve seen around - I’d be shocked if those are driven “for leasure”...
    - kube-system 7y ago
      Many are primary transportation for lower income people. But it's also not uncommon in some circles in the US to have a 'beater car', as an alternative to their typical transportation.
kube-system 7y ago
I definitely think some of the effects falls into “if you have the option, you might exercise upon it” effect. The US makes it easier for people to own a car as a non-primary form of transportation than much of Europe. Taxes, licensing, insurance, fuel, and used vehicle prices are all comparatively cheaper, and parking spaces are more abundant. Germany for example, requires more than 550 times the amount of automobile bodily injury insurance than my state here in the US. Pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to afford to have a car just sitting around for occasional use if I lived there.
- distances 7y ago
  Driving is much safer in Germany than in the US though (less than half the deaths per car), so I would assume similar insurance is quite a bit cheaper. But there's no denying it's more expensive to have a car in Europe.
  - kube-system 7y ago
    I don’t even think you can get similar insurance in the US. The highest liability limits I’ve ever seen offered in the US are still more than an order of magnitude lower than Germany’s minimums. (And I specifically look, because I always max out my liability limits)
thomascgalvin 7y ago
I don't drive for pleasure, but when I do drive, it's in the opposite direction of my office. I go into the city to work; I go into the suburbs to play. The restaurants, movie theaters, and stores I visit are all outside of the city.

herval 7y ago

Germans are fairly well known for their love for cars, and a lot of folks have cars “for pleasure” (convertibles, sports cars, etc). Autobahns are also insanely fun - you can actually speed up that sport car, unlike here in the US of A. All anecdotal of course, but I would be surprised if that theory has any evidence to support it..

kube-system 7y ago
They also have legal requirements for ownership which go way way beyond what most of the US does. I think part of their car culture can be attributed to self-selection bias.
- herval 7y ago
  I come from a “third world” country, and gotta say the vehicles that are allowed to be put on the street here are shocking. Lost count on how many cars glued together with duct tape I’ve seen around - I’d be shocked if those are driven “for leasure”...
  - kube-system 7y ago
    Many are primary transportation for lower income people. But it's also not uncommon in some circles in the US to have a 'beater car', as an alternative to their typical transportation.

kube-system 7y ago

I definitely think some of the effects falls into “if you have the option, you might exercise upon it” effect. The US makes it easier for people to own a car as a non-primary form of transportation than much of Europe. Taxes, licensing, insurance, fuel, and used vehicle prices are all comparatively cheaper, and parking spaces are more abundant. Germany for example, requires more than 550 times the amount of automobile bodily injury insurance than my state here in the US. Pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to afford to have a car just sitting around for occasional use if I lived there.

distances 7y ago
Driving is much safer in Germany than in the US though (less than half the deaths per car), so I would assume similar insurance is quite a bit cheaper. But there's no denying it's more expensive to have a car in Europe.
- kube-system 7y ago
  I don’t even think you can get similar insurance in the US. The highest liability limits I’ve ever seen offered in the US are still more than an order of magnitude lower than Germany’s minimums. (And I specifically look, because I always max out my liability limits)

thomascgalvin 7y ago

I don't drive for pleasure, but when I do drive, it's in the opposite direction of my office. I go into the city to work; I go into the suburbs to play. The restaurants, movie theaters, and stores I visit are all outside of the city.