Twenty plus years ago I loved driving. I had a job which required driving across an area of Australia equivalent in size to western Europe. I was an auditor with a bank. Driving from one region to the next was most enjoyable.

Two decades later I was living in Singapore. An excellent public transport system with easily accessed MRT rail system linked via hubs to a comprehensive bus network that service the surrounding towns. Plus, inexpensive taxis, very inexpensive. My wife and I existed without a car for five years. It was excellent. There was no need for a car.

Now, back in Australia I rely upon a car to travel to work. Public transport is either inadequate or non-existent. I am unable to get to work via public transort. Fortunately, as a member of a car pool I only drive to work one week in three. Luckily our commute is against the traffic flow, away from the city, with the last few kilometres through dairy farms to the school. That is pleasant.

I wish we all existed in a world without cars, or at least privately owned cars. The car and the internal combustion engine are contributing to the death of this planet. Bio-fuel as a solution is, sadly, even a problem. One full tank of bio-fuel is produced using vegetable matter that could have fed a human being for a year.

Yes, I am a reluctant driver.

As for inconsiderate drivers, they can go to… a place where they are all trapped in their cars on an infinite roundabout, windows wound down, breathing in their own smog. Harsh, yes, but that is how I feel. Strangely enough, outside of the car, that same inconsiderate driver could very well be the nicest of neighbours or the most collegial of colleagues. Human beings are certainly unusual entities.

cheers, John.