There are profound and hidden costs to our beloved car culture. Beyond the direct economic impacts of owning and maintaining a personal vehicle there are negative impacts on environmental health, social equity, individual freedoms, and urban design.
Many may argue that these costs are trade-offs for the freedom and prosperity that cars have provided, but when examined those trade-offs may not seem like a good deal.
The car industry has skillfully marketed itself as a symbol of progress and freedom, but critics of the "car-industrial complex" make the case that a car-centered society perpetuates dependence through intertwined economic, political, and cultural forces.
Car ownership has also become a driver of economic inequity. Owning a car can keep you poor by depleting your income through significant direct and hidden expenses, and by diverting money away from wealth-building investments.
This creates a state of being "car poor," where an individual's budget is stretched thin by vehicle-related costs.
Some have offered the future of electric and autonomous vehicles as a solution for some of the issues, but they do not fundamentally dismantle the systemic problems caused by car-centric societies. And they might exacerbate issues of loss of mobility freedom and privacy.
In addition, the forthcoming world of self-driving cars presents a new peril of hacking. That's a scenario where software turns the vehicle into a death trap or weapon.
Last month the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration released a report calling for a national security response to the presence of malware Chinese technology secretly installed in America’s transportation infrastructure.
Cars have caused an astonishing number of deaths and injuries.
According to the new book by Henrietta Moore and Arthur Kay, “Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars,” cars have killed 60 to 80 million people since their invention, more than the deaths of WWI and WWII combined. And "approximately 102 million people are injured each year in car crashes."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report for 2019 alone estimated "36,500 people killed in motor vehicle crashes" and "3.1 million were injured in police-reported crashes, with an additional 1.4 million incurring injuries ... that were not reported to the police."
The NHTSA Report details significant economic and comprehensive costs for car ownership.
In 2019, the total societal harm from motor vehicle crashes was an estimated "$1.37 trillion, nearly four times the value measured by economic impacts alone." A substantial portion of these costs (75%) represents "lost quality-of-life," emphasizing that monetary figures alone do not capture the full impact.
"Road Kill" asserts that cars also kill with their environmental impacts. "Pollution (cars are the biggest single emitter of CO2), resource extraction (oil, steel, lithium, cobalt), and climate change have worsened the health of nearly everyone on the planet," according to the authors.
The manufacturing of cars requires vast material resources, with "0.9 tons of steel" used per car, on average.
The extraction of materials for electric vehicles (e.g., lithium, cobalt) leads to significant groundwater and land pollution, often in the Global South, regions and nations—primarily in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean—that are often characterized by lower income levels, historical colonialism, and developmental challenges.
Is there an opportunity for a “U-turn” on our dependency on cars? “Road Kill” presents a roadmap for Change" that emphasizes a shift towards human-centric urban design and mobility, supported by re-evaluation and targeted policies.
A reimagined world would require a new urban landscape like compact and ”15-minute cities.” These areas prioritize human-centered design where "work, shops, schools, parks, and healthcare are accessible within 15 minutes by walking, cycling, or taking public transport. This creates livable neighborhoods that are healthier and more social.
There would have to be public investment in alternative transportation. A shift in taxpayer funding from car infrastructure to public transport, cycling, and walking, which should be the main options for most trips.
The politically entrenched "car-industrial complex" presents formidable challenges, but there are concrete, implementable pathways that lead forward and create healthier, more equitable, and prosperous societies.
Guests:
Dame Henrietta L. Moore is a leading global thinker on prosperity. She challenges traditional economic models of growth arguing that to flourish, communities, businesses and governments need to engage collaboratively with local diversity and work within ecological limits. She is the co-author of “Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars.”
Arthur Kay is an entrepreneur, urban designer and advisor, building solutions for sustainable cities. He is the founder of several urban design and technology companies: Bio-bean; Skyroom; The Key Worker Homes Fund; and Fast Forward 2030. He serves as a Board Member of Transport for London, and the Museum of the Home. He holds academic appointments, as Honorary Associate Professor at UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, and has lectured on design, sustainability, and entrepreneurship at LSE, Imperial College London, NYU, and MIT.
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This interview will be recorded live Monday, September 15, 2025.
