Post-midnight was the perfect time for a run to New York. The objective was breakfast at a coffee shop in the city, but the real reason was the desire for an exhilarating ride on the open road.
Blasting down I-84 in a borrowed, powder-blue ragtop the size of a motorboat was fast and easy since the stream of traffic was light, just a few tractor-trailers and rigs to contend with.
The return trip wasn’t. Early-morning commuters to and from the metro zone clogged freeways all the way back to Hartford, Conn.
That trip took place decades ago when the collective miles people drove was rising rapidly. In more recent years, the collective number of miles driven has tumbled.
At the same time, fewer young people are getting drivers licenses. On the other end of the age spectrum, the baby boom generation are starting to leave their cars in the garage as their peak driving years fade.
The people who track such statistics have come up with several theories about why Americans are no longer captivated by the automobile.
Most agree that it’s the economy, and the economics of owning a car. At an average price of $31,000, buying one is a big hurdle. Then there’s the never-ending cost of insurance, maintenance and parking, and, of course, the unpredictable price of gasoline.
Younger people just getting into the job market have little spare change for a car, new or pre-owned, as used cars are now called. Studies have also found that their online lifestyle drops driving lower on the list of priorities. They’d much rather commute on public transportation where they can socialize, shop and read digitally. Social media also puts them in constant touch with friends, so there is less of a need for face-to-face get-togethers. Then there’s the mom-mobile, which many still rely on even as they leave their teens behind.
Another theory has many men — who are driving fewer miles than women and who have fallen behind women in the license count — losing interest in tinkering with wheels as onboard computers have rendered cars more similar to laptops and PCs.
But the chief reason for the drop in driving is that it’s really no fun anymore. Open roads remain in less populated and rural regions of the U.S. In an urban environment, however, driving is a royal pain in the wazoo.
On Oahu, driving more closely resembles a motorized brawl. Laws and traffic restrictions are ignored even by police officers whose patrol vehicles seem to lack blinkers and speedometers as they hurtle down King Street at shift change.
Traffic jams bend patience. Narrowed freeway lanes up stress levels and fears of fender benders. Ill-timed traffic lights have cars lurching from one intersection to the next, extending what should be a 10-minute spin to Longs into a half-hour cruise to frustration.
Road rudeness is the norm, "driving with aloha" so unusual that a courteous act amazes.
And yet public transportation — namely an extensive, flexible, easily adjustable, versatile, accommodating bus system — lingers in the "nice-to-have" column of the political agenda.
Maybe a younger generation’s choices will force a change in the template for commuting and flip a turn signal toward riding rather than driving.
Cynthia Oi can be reached at coi@staradvertiser.com.
