Commuting is Bad For Your Health

Even as local authorities move up plans extend local highways even farther outside Austin, more information is being released about the hazards of extended commuting. In addition to making people fat and unhappy, a new Forbes article says that commuting increases exposure to pollution and increases liklihood of vehicular death. The California Air Resources Board has found that exposure to ultra-fine particulate matter is linked with premature death, cardiovascular disease and respiratory illness. Particle levels are four to eight times higher inside commuter cars than in ambient outdoor air. Motor vehicle traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for Americans aged 4 to 34 and Austin drivers are the worst in Texas, so spending an hour or two on the highway every day makes it less likely that commuters will live long enough for cardiovascular disease or respiratory illness to be a problem.

Image from Cote on Flickr.

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By Shawn Shillington in News on July 26, 2007 10:00 AM 0 Comments

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guest

They should still outlaw cars and driving because they're pollution and fastness.

ConanTheLibrarian

As someone who did not get a Driver's License until 34 and in less than a score of years has had 3 vehicles totalled by other drivers, the problem dear #2 is not cars and driving. Rather it is the sociopaths who think the laws of Physics(Tailgators, Speeders as defined by the Insurance Information Institute www.iii.org) do not apply to them, would rather crash and kill than slow down and drive safely. In defense of 18-34 year olds, baby boomers come in 2nd in the drivers who scare the shit out of me; their death toll is lower because they drive bigger vehicles better able to absorb damage. I have earned screen credits as a stunt driver for a TLC program and a 48-Hour film winner. I don't drive defensively, I drive paranoid.

And a few statements to consider before you take to the road in your vehicle: "Domestic Terrorists Tailgate", "Traffic will come to a screeching halt without Warning", "If no one cooperates, everyone loses".

guest

They should outlaw cars and driving. They move too fast anyway.

Room 710

Interesting that cancer causing chemicals are found around the highway system, but it was the American Lung Association placing the blame of cancer in non-smokers on 2nd Hand Smoke. As a bar that caters to a community of strictly 21+ year olds, we were told that the community's risk of cancer was, in essence, our responsibility, and so it became our responsibility to make sure that grown adults had to be told to not smoke by the Bar or else the Bar gets a citation. Essentially, this was the wording of the smoking ban that went into effect 2 years ago this September 1.

I wonder if the City will fine the road builders, the car industry, the car salesmen, the subdivision developers, etc and so forth due to the findings of the California Air Resource Board. But I'm guessing they're not. Why put those people out of business when they, in effect, aren't part of the Sin Industry? (Or aren't they?)

What complex webs we as a society tend to weave.