Before we get into this post, let's clear up how far a thousand meters is in American terms: it's almost eleven football fields. Now, imagine you're cheering a football game from the sidelines and, over the course of a quarter, you walk from one end to the other a few times. It's not a big deal, right? Well, for some people it is. has released the results of a survey that, frankly, are a bit saddening. The survey asked people in the UK if they would rather walk or drive to a destination 1000 meters away. Almost a quarter (23 percent, extrapolated to seven million Britons) said they'd rather drive.

We're not talking about whether or not there's anything worth walking to within 1000 meters (I understand that in many places, you can't get to the store or the school in that range), we're not talking about health issues or any disabilities that mean you can't walk. We're just saying, "Hey, there's something cool 1000 meters away. It'll take you 12 minutes to walk there, and between two and 12 to drive, depending on roads and traffic. What do you do?" Almost one in four say they'd rather drive, which is too many. Personally, I'd choose bike as my top choice (then walk, then drive), but I don't know if biking was an option in this survey. Either way, for short distances, a car is the wrong choice 90 percent of the time, I'd say.

Luckily, for billions of people, walking is still a perfectly normal way to get around on a daily basis, and here in America there are some very notable exceptions to the don't-wanna-walk mentality. From Lewis and Clark to Peter Jenkins to these two, America has a long history of people willing to walk (and far), but I don't doubt that the whatcar survey results would be just as bad, if not worse, if the questions were asked of Americans.

You can see a longer list of other highlights from the Whatcar survey after the jump, but these two jumped out at me:

42.7% supported a ban on all private transport in town centres if public transport is improved sufficiently.
42.7% said they never used public transport.

Why - why!?! - is The Onion always right?

[Source: Whatcar]
Millions won't even walk 1000m

Seven million people would rather use their cars than take a 1000-metre walk, according to an exclusive survey into green issues by

In other words, almost one quarter (23%) of all of Britain's motorists would rather drive for a distance that would take just 12 minutes on foot, despite the obvious environmental and health benefits of walking.

Estimates suggest that driving the same distance can take between two and 12 minutes, depending on traffic conditions – so many of those who drive in built-up areas don't save any time.

Medical research also suggests that three half-hour walks a week can double an average person's fitness level, improve their health and prolong their life.

Other facts highlighted by the survey include:

30.2% of motorists rate the environment as very important to them. 4.5% say it is not at all important.

14.6% say their car's environmental impact is very important to them. 7.3% say it isn't at all important.

29.9% of respondents said they wouldn't pay more for a greener car, with the majority of them saying they would need a £500 tax incentive to buy green.

Although 71.2% of motorists know their car's carbon dioxide rating, just 36.3% said it affected their car choice.

65.8% of motorists support the introduction of an additional VED band to tax cars that emit more than 275g/km of carbon dioxide, with 49.8% saying drivers of such vehicles should be paying more than £800 a year in road tax.

36.9% were in favour of banning higher-emitting cars from town centres altogether, but only 12.8% felt diesels should be treated the same way.


29.9% said that the congestion charge would have to top £20 a day to stop them driving into towns and cities. A further 28.8% said they would stop if the charge topped £5.

42.7% said they never used public transport.

46.2% thought hydrogen fuel cell technology represented the future of motoring. Just 9.3% said diesel and 2.0% petrol. Stop-start technology was only rated by 11.5%.

"The survey has clearly highlighted two things: first, that motorists do care about the environment and are aware of their vehicle's impact, but also that the car is very much an integral part of everyday life for many and something they are not prepared to give up," said Iain Reid, producer.

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