Auto Free Ottawa -- Autoholics Anonymous

Autoholics Anonymous
(courtesy Auto Free Ottawa)

1) Do you tend to have a closer and more enduring relationship with yourautomobile(s) than with most of the people in your life?
2) Do you suffer anxiety attacks, or feelings of complete helplessnessand a sense of loss whenever your car is back in the shop for repair?
3) Do you enjoy going for long drives by yourself, even when you haveno particular destination in mind, or setting new speed records en route?
4) Are you so used to taking your car on even the shortest of trips thatyou often spend more time searching for a parking spot than in driving there?
5) Do your cars consume more of your paycheck than either food or rent,and does insurance for them cost more than for both your home and your life?
6) Are you now or have you ever been an uninsured motorist, or drivenwithout a valid license, simply because you had no other way to get around?
7) If you had to choose between your TV and your car, would you returnto radio? Between grass and gas, would you prefer life without a lawn? Andbetween your sex drive and your 4-wheel drive, would you select celibacy?
8) Are you fed up with ever-worsening traffic and air unfit to breathe,but fail to consider your own contribution toward these problems?
9) Do you think that the solution to urban congestion is more concreteand asphalt, and that gridlock can be avoided if we just build enough roads?
10) Do you believe that there really are limitless reserves of petroleumavailable, and that the age of the private automobile will never end?
11) Are you willing to wage war, or condone our nation going to war, foraccess to and/or control over a continuing supply of cheap oil -- just tokeep your gas-guzzler on the road for a few more years?
12) Do you feel that your right to own and operate a motor vehicle shouldtake precedence over those of your fellow planetary passengers to live in ahabitable and humane world; and are you willing to sacrifice the prospects offuture generations for a better life, or even for a life at all, on the altarof your own selfish interests and pursuit of personal convenience?If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might well have aproblem. If you answered yes to two or more, you most likely are a confirmedauto abuser. If you are at all concerned about being dependent on such adestructive means of transportation, try kicking your own car habit with:
THE PETRO-JUNKIE'S PEDAL-PUSHER PLEDGE
- 1) Get more out of life by getting a bike -- become a born-again cyclist.
- 2) Resolve to use self-propulsion whenever possible in place of a car.
- 3) Rethink your priorities and the concept of time as a commodity.
- 4) Forsake the frontier mentality of use it up and throw it away.
- 5) Quit the cult of conspicuous consumption and competitive conceit.
- 6) Do without, get by with less, and recycle what you have.
- 7) Live more harmoniously with the planet and its inhabitants.
- 8) Lead by example and encourage others to follow in your path.
With the proper preparation, substituting a bike for your Buick or BMWshould bring not only substantial health and financial benefits, but alsothe peace of mind that comes from taking personal responsibility seriously.
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Riley R. Geary    << Car-Free Lifestyle Counselor since 1988 >>
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Last Modified: January 1st, 1997 by Richard Guy Briggs for Auto-free Ottawa

Autoholics Anonymous (courtesy Auto Free Ottawa)

THE PETRO-JUNKIE'S PEDAL-PUSHER PLEDGE

Autoholics Anonymous
(courtesy Auto Free Ottawa)