The automobile plays an important role in the American society, both in positive and negative ways. Its impact on modern society cannot be overestimated https://ninjas-essays.com/.
Engineering is the leading business sector of the American industry. The products of mechanical engineering play a crucial role in the implementation of scientific and technological progresses in all sectors of the economy. In the U.S., the share of machinery in industrial structure ranges from 40 to 50%.
Mechanical engineering is the biggest complex industry that determines the level of science and technology throughout the economy, as it provides equipment, appliances and commodities.
Automotive industry is the U.S. national industry. The United States was the first country where mass production of cars took place. One in seven working Americans makes or serves cars. Car factories are located in 125 cities, in 26 states of the country. This industry is the largest consumer of the U.S. steel, lead, nickel, rubber, plastics and other materials, exerting great influence on the level of production of manufacturing industries. However, modernization leads to a reduction in the number of employees in the industry, increasing the level of unemployment.
It is sometimes said that the cars have created America and there is truth in this phrase. The beginning of the automobile era in the United States can be considered to date back to 16 June 1903. This day, the first Ford came from the conveyor of an automobile factory. This model soon became a national car. According to The History of the Automobile, popularity of the cars has consistently changed with the state of the economy. It was growing during the boom period after World War I and dropping abruptly during the Great Depression, when the rate of unemployment was high .
During the first half of the 20th century, the U.S. had no competition in the production of cars. In 1950, the country had 83% of total world production of cars. After inventing the car, Americans’ lives have changed completely. The convenience of automobile impacted people’s lives and made it easy to travel from one city to another, from one state to another. “The automobile created mobility on a scale never known before, and the total effect on living habits and social customs is endless” .
Automobile transport is a key element of the transport system, which plays a major role in promoting economic growth and social development. Massive use of motor vehicles resulted in changes in all sectors of the economy, in the social sphere, in the situation on the labor market, urban policy, the organization of retail, leisure, and in other aspects of society.
However, recognizing the seriousness of the negative aspects of car ownership, transport policy of the U.S. is not aimed at the direct restriction of this process, but on its regulation, in order to reduce losses due to road traffic accidents, in order to avoid irreversible environmental impact. This policy is realized in the so-called concept of sustainable transport, providing a balanced development of different modes of transport, increasing the role of public transport, the introduction of a number of traffic restrictions of personal cars in large cities and on the most intensive highways.
One of the negative effects of car ownership is growing mismatch of the condition of the road network and vehicular traffic. The lack of roads’ development does not only prevent wider use of modern cars, but limits the opportunities for economic development that can be given by automobile transport. It also greatly enhances the other negative effects of motorization, promoting the growth of road accidents, increasing the level of harmful emissions and noise pollution.
The creation of the car changed the American society. People now had an opportunity to travel easily. Before the invention of the automobile, Americans used to live close to their relatives, go to a nearby school, and work on their farms. According to The Automobile and American Life, during the 20th century, the automobile gradually combined urban and rural areas together. The automobiles slowly became a part of rural life of Americans, providing many improvements to the quality of life .
According to The History of the Automobile, before the invention of the car, people lived in the city and worked in the city, or lived in the country and worked on a farm. With the appearance of automobile, the growth of suburbs has allowed people to live on the outskirts of the city and be able to work in the city by commuting . Mobilization created a nation that is dependent on cars. Americans use automobiles every day. Some people like to drive, in order to relax. The development of automobile industry effects American society by creating new jobs. “New jobs due to the impact of the automobile such as fast food, city/ highway construction, state patrol/ police, convenience stores, gas stations, auto repair shops, auto shops, etc. allow more employment for the world's growing population” . Trucks bring different goods to cities and towns; buses drive people to jobs, schools, etc.
Without automobile’s creation, Americans would not be able to visit different cities and states. Travelling by car became an alternative to travelling by horse or foot.
Road transport has played a huge role in shaping the modern nature of human settlement, in the dissemination of distant tourism.
People have more free time for recreation, personal development, additional earnings, parenting and other personally and socially significant goals. Travelling by car is less tiring for a passenger as well. There is no need to walk long distances anymore.
Today almost every adult has a car and driver’s license. The automobile gives the driver a chance to exercise control and power. The driver controls direction, destination, and speed.
The automobile industry had affected Americans in a negative way too. Family life was affected by mobilization. As a result of freedom given by the automobile, many American families fell apart. Spouses or children can easily escape from routine home life, in order to satisfy their own wishes.
The automobile became not only an invention and kind of transportation, but social status. For rich people cars became expensive toys. Car owners spend a lot of money on fuel, insurance, and maintenance.
The automobile causes people’s deaths. Annually 0.2 million people die in car accidents, 0.5 million become crippled, and 10 million get injured. According to Jane Holtz Kay, “the car remains the single greatest killer of young people. The car deaths of adolescent males in the suburbs equal the gunshot deaths in the city” .
The automobile brought negative effects to nature. Annually, the atmosphere receives hundreds of millions of tons of harmful substances with the exhaust gases. Moreover, the car is one of the main factors of noise pollution. Road network, especially near urban centers, takes valuable agricultural land. Road transport caused deteriorating of health, poisoned soil and water, suffering flora and fauna.
Currently, in the world, there are 300 million cars, 80 million trucks and about 1 million of city buses. On the one hand, the automobile eased the man’s life; on the other hand, it poisons the nature. Every year, one car absorbs more than four tons of oxygen from the atmosphere.
One of the main sources of noise in the city is road transport. Noise in big cities shortens a person’s life. Excessive noise can cause nervous exhaustion, mental depression, vegetative neurosis, ulcer disease, and endocrine disorders. Noise distracts people from work and relaxation; it also reduces productivity. Noise disrupts sleep.
It can be expected that the number of road traffic injuries will increase with the growth of the car parkings at a relative stabilization of road network and the development of technical means to control the movement. Moreover, it will increase the levels of pollution of air, soil, surface and groundwater by harmful substances.
However, despite all negative aspects of using the car, it remains one of the greatest inventions of mankind. Today, it is difficult to imagine how people lived without this miracle of civilization. It has the great influence on today’s modern society. The automobile simplifies the life of men. Without a car, people would have no time to that rhythm, in which modern life develops. Due to personal transport, people can plan their lives according to the rhythm of the dynamic speed of large cities.
For most people, the car has long ceased to be a luxury, but has become a primary mean for movement. For many people, their cars are like their family members. The automobile plays an important role in modern American culture. It is popular because of its ability to satisfy person’s desire for freedom, individualism and power.
Modern life is very hard to imagine without cars. The automobile helps to keep up with the dynamics of life. It surrounds driver with maximum comfort and convenience. Person can emphasize social status with the help of the automobile. Over the last decade the car has become an integral part of people’s comfort. With its help, people easily overcome required distance for a short period of time. Therefore, owning the car is convenient to not only the citizens of big cities, but also those in rural areas.
