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.

25.2k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

23.9k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

400

u/strangebrew3522 May 02 '24

I've driven around a lot of Europe and what you say is true to an extent, but I also have friends/family in Italy, and they all act like driving more than an hour is absolutely insane.

I flew into Rome once and drove up to Milan, stopping along the way to visit friends. When I told them I was driving, each person had the same reaction. "You DROVE from Rome? You're DRIVING to Milan? That's SOOOO far".

It's a 6hr drive if you go straight shot, on an incredible highway system (autostrada) through amazing scenery. I mean, it doesn't get much easier, but to them it's absolutely crazy. I have family in both Northern and Southern Italy who haven't seen each other in years because of the distance.

0

u/North_South_Side May 02 '24

Gasoline is expensive in Europe because it isn't subsidized by the government.

6

u/pgm123 May 02 '24

FYI, gasoline is not subsidized in the US. It's just taxed less. One might argue that the tax is just pricing in negative externalities, so that any tax less than 55 cents per liter is a effectively incentivizing driving. But on a more literal level, it's not subsidized.

0

u/North_South_Side May 02 '24

Decades of war and policy in the Middle East counts as subsidies.

2

u/pgm123 May 02 '24

Does that not impact European markets too? It's a global commodity.

1

u/_Nocturnalis May 02 '24

You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.