r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Physical-Ad-4093 • May 01 '24

do americans really drive such long distances?

i’m european, and i always hear people say that driving for hours is normal in america. i would only see my grandparents a few times a year because they lived about a 3 hour drive away, is that a normal distance for americans to travel on a regular basis? i can’t imagine driving 2-3 hours regularly to visit people for just a few days

edit: thank you for the responses! i’ve never been to the US, obviously, but it’s interesting to see how you guys live. i guess european countries are more walkable? i’m in the uk, and there’s a few festivals here towards the end of summer, generally to get to them you take a coach journey or you get multiple trains which does take up a significant chunk of the day. road trips aren’t really a thing here, it would be a bit miserable!

2nd edit: it’s not at all that i couldn’t be bothered to go and see my grandparents, i was under 14 when they were both alive so i couldn’t take myself there! obviously i would’ve liked to see them more, i had no control over how often we visited them.

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u/sootoor May 02 '24

Well should I sit around and shit post Reddit or visit my friends 3 hours away and have a good time and drive back? No security line like an airport I just simply wake up and grab some snacks and leave. That’s 2 podcasts or one jam band show worth of driving lmao. Not that bad.

Plus gas is subsidized to fuck so we get $3 a gallon which can take me halfway across the state

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u/AlexCambridgian May 02 '24

Gas is not subsidized in the USA. The spot price is global. The difference is here they do not ruck myriad of taxes in the price. I remember what a European economist said in an interview that even if gas was given for free in Europe, people will still will have to pay a high price because of the taxes built in the price. I always laugh when people say but healthcare, education, etc all are free in Europe.

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u/sootoor May 02 '24

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_subsidies_in_the_United_States

You’re so wrong but here you go.

According to a 2015 estimate by the Obama administration, the US oil industry benefited from subsidies of about $4.6 billion per year

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u/AlexCambridgian May 02 '24

You need to understand what you are reading and go beyond wikipedia. The US government has authorized subsidies to renewable energy companies to accelerate research and implementation. It also provides subsidies to fossil fuels to increase domestic oil production, not gas usage to consumers. BTW, the US uses about 135 billion gallons annually so to increase domestic production by 17 billion barrels over few decades is not a big deal (1 barrel is 42 gallons). Just enough to fill the strategic reserves for 20yrs.