Past GT essay In many countries, there are an increasing number of private cars. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend?

Someone has rightly said that – “The car has become an article of dress without which we feel uncertain, unclad, and incomplete”. It is irrefutable that nowadays, the number of cars has increased at an unprecedented rate. This situation has both - advantages as well as disadvantages.

There are many advantages of car. The most important advantage is that it has given people freedom of movement. The ease of transportation which a car brings is more than any other form of transportation. For instance, you can go from destination to destination and no time is wasted waiting for the bus or train. Therefore, time and distance are not a barrier any more. What is more, families can go out together. This becomes especially helpful when there are elderly or the disabled and sick members in the family.

Furthermore, the automobile industry provides jobs to millions of workers. Filling stations, restaurants, and other businesses that serve automobile travelers are of major importance to a country’s economy. In addition, many developing nations have begun making automobiles to boost their economy. That is why India has promoted many automobile manufacturing industries such as Tata and Mahindra.

On the other hand the disadvantages of the car cannot be overlooked. The increase in pollution, traffic jams and accidents are the natural sequel to the burgeoning population of cars. Moreover, our overdependence on cars can lead to decrease in practices such as walking and cycling and this has led to a number of diseases such as obesity.

On balance, the advantages to people’s lives and the economic impact created by the car definitely outweigh the disadvantages. However, we must know when and how-much to use the car so that we can minimize the demerits to some extent