I owned a car from the time I was 15, in 1985, until December 2, 2006. On that day an SUV driver over-estimated the abilities of his vehicle on a downhill slope during the first snowfall of the year. He ran a stop sign and was headed right for me. I swerved to avoid being t-boned and possibly killed, and ran into a tree instead. The car was totaled. Had I not been on the way to an important doctor’s appointment, I would not have even been on the road. I’m glad to be alive and without serious injury. But so it came to be that I have been “car-free” for just about one year now.

To be fair, I’m really “car-lite” rather than “car-free.” I still rent or borrow cars for long distances or heavy loads, and I’m a member of Community Car. But for trips of less than 5 miles that do not involve moving a drum kit, I typically bike, walk, or take the bus now.

Madison isn’t a bad town to be car-free in. There are certainly improvements still to be made and it probably isn’t as good as a place like New York City or maybe Portland, but it isn’t bad. I’ve situated my living space on the pedestrian-friendly near-east side. There is nearly nothing that I need in life that I can’t walk or bike to from my house in less than 2 miles. My job is just a little less than 5 miles from home, a pretty easy bike ride.

Being car-free has been easier than I anticipated. It takes a little pre-planning sometimes, but what you learn is that more than half of the trips that you used to take in your car were probably unnecessary. You think twice before taking unnecessary trips when your own physical effort and exposure to the elements is involved. You trip chain (string your errands together as geographically efficiently as possible). You wait another day to go to the store when you know you have to go to that part of town anyway. You buy locally rather than haul out to the mall.

Living a bike/ped-heavy lifestyle has benefits too. No car payment, no car insurance premium, and no gas costs. No more parking tickets (I had no idea how often I was getting tickets for expired meters). Even though I still rent or use Community Car sometimes, my monthly auto costs are a quarter of what they were when I owned. On average, owning a car costs $8,000 per year.

I’m by nature physically lazy, but biking and walking isn’t that hard to do. So I have a built-in exercise program. If I didn’t bike to work, my butt would surely melt into the couch.

And, of course, there’s the environment. Maybe my contribution doesn’t mean much, but it still makes me feel good to not be contributing to global warming. And it’s nice to not support the need for wars for oil.

But the best part of being car-free for me is the connection that it gives me to my community. When you’re out walking or on your bike, you run into your friends more. You notice the changes in the community. You notice the change in seasons. You’re connected to the world around you.

With the introduction of the $2,500 car in India, I worry that the world is moving towards more cars rather than towards less. Imagine a nation of Chinese or Indian car owners and the impact it would have on those countries and the world. Why not buck the trend? This spring, think about participating in World Car-Free Day or the Madison Environmental Group’s Carfree Challenge. It might be easier than you think.