Adam was Right

Adam Trimingham, sometimes known as The Sage of Sussex, writes for the Brighton Argus. As if to prove that the key to proper journalism is leg-work, Adam has never owned a car. I was glad when Adam agreed to be featured as a carfree chooser for my upcoming book, The Four Wheel Detox. And really impressed when he answered the question “What is the best thing about not owning a car?” with, “the knowledge that I will never kill or injure anyone.” I assumed that Adam was referring to the possibility of crashing into another road user and extinguishing them in an instant. But I thought of Adam again when, last week, the Argus published its weekly pull-out Motoring supplement. Because on the very same day, the middle page spread of the real paper was an article on “The Danger in the Air” - a follow-up to the previous day’s front page headline, “Choking to Death.” The articles covered a report produced by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, which showed that air pollution in Brighton and Hove, mainly attributable to vehicle exhausts, actually kills more people than car crashes or passive smoking. Many areas of the city have air pollution levels which exceed EU safety levels, leading to asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart and circulatory disease and cancer. Which shows how right Adam was when he said that being carfree meant he wouldn’t be killing anyone – either quickly or slowly.