Essay 115 – Problems over-reliance on cars can cause

GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 115

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

More and more people are relying on private cars as their major means of transportation. Describe some of the problems over-reliance on cars can cause, and suggest at least one possible solution.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

Model Answer:

Dependency on private cars has become a common phenomenon in modern society. This essay will delineate how the heavy reliance on personal vehicles can exert negative impacts on individuals and the environment as well, and come up with effective remedies.

The excessive reliance on automobiles leads to traffic congestion and severe air pollution. When a substantial number of cars, beyond road capacity, successively hit the roads, the density surpasses the critical value and the free flow state comes to a standstill. Thus, the substantial dependency on private vehicles causes traffic congestion, which in turn waste enormous working hours daily and decrease productivity. Likewise, heavy reliance on private vehicles has catastrophic consequences as they severely damage the environment. In simple words, private automobiles emit an abundant amount of carbon dioxide, which is extremely harmful to the atmosphere. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, private vehicles account for around a quarter of all greenhouse gases released into the environment.

To curb the issue, governments should impose restrictions on private car ownership. That is to say that only one private car should be permitted to be registered for each household. In consequence, it will reduce the number of private vehicles substantially, which in turn, will mitigate traffic gridlock as well as ameliorates environmental damage. Besides, governments should allocate a large budget for developing public transport system and road infrastructure. With an improved public transport system, residents would be encouraged to travel by public transports instead of private means. In addition to this, politicians should not be afraid of imposing green taxes.

To conclude, a huge number of private cars play a profound role in the alarming increase in traffic jams and pollution. Restrictions on the number of private vehicles per family, improved public transport system and green taxes are deemed to be the silver bullets for this problem.