Vehicle overdependence is when someone is reliant on their vehicle to the point of a fault. With the planet’s health in jeopardy due to excessive human oil consumption, there is no excuse for an able bodied person to be driving half a mile from their home to run an errand. An when a person’s physical health is in jeopardy because they are not getting enough exercise, there is no excuse for them to take a leisurely drive when they can just as easily take a leisurely walk. Instances like this are examples of over-reliance on a vehicle. When you are using your vehicle so much that it is contributing to the toxicity of the environment and of your personal health, you are overly dependent on your vehicle.

Vehicle overdependence has become the leading cause of pollution and carbon emissions on earth. All of the news stories on melting glaciers and stranded polar bears and ozone depletion are all a byproduct of pollution and carbon emissions. The toxicity in the environment creates greenhouse gases that cause global warming and drastically alter earth’s weather patterns, which makes earth’s future very unpredictable. Not only that, but the process of excavating oil steals natural lubrication from earth’s crust which is vital to the prevention of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Continuing to tamper with this fragile natural processes does not bode well for the health and longevity of the planet.

Relying on a vehicle too much is also having a negative effect on people’s health. Lack of exercise is being confirmed again and again as a leading cause of disease. Diabetes, stroke, heart attack and obesity are all linked to lack of exercise, as well as many more. It does not make any sense to overuse a vehicle, which is exercise preventing, in order to accomplish a commute that could have been made by walking or riding a bike. This will only serve to increase a person’s risk of disease or aggravate a disease they already have.