Having a good car may contribute to your physical and mental health, writes Matt Egan
Research conducted at Glasgow's Medical Research Council Public Health Unit has found evidence suggesting that access to a car can be good for people's physical and psychological health.
A report published in Transportation Research by Anne Ellaway and colleagues claims that car-users experience greater feelings of prestige, self-esteem, and control compared with people who use public transport, and that these factors are important for people's health.
However, the Glasgow-based scientists emphasise that these findings should be used to encourage improved public transport rather than increased car use. The authors state that "If car use is to be reduced and travel by public transport increased then public transport has to be made a more attractive, convenient and prestigious option."
These conclusions are based on a postal survey of more than 2,000 adults in Scotland. According to the authors, they support previous studies that "have consistently shown that car access is associated with long life and better health".
The study found differences in the way men and women respond to different forms of transport. Women are more likely to benefit psychologically because they feel more secure when using cars. The authors suggest that this could reflect greater concern among women over the safety of public transport.
The study suggests that male car users gain the most psychological benefits from expensive cars. Women on the other hand appear unmoved by the higher prestige offered by a flashy motor, and report similar benefits regardless of whether their car is a cheap or expensive model.
The scientists also found that even among people from the same social class, car users were likely to have better health than people using public transport. This allowed the authors to be more confident that the health effects they identified were caused by access to cars rather than differences in people's income.
Like the Ellaway Report, another Medical Research Council study has found that the relationship between road transport and health is far from straightforward.
This study, which was reported in the American Journal of Public Health, is based on a 12-month project that aimed at a comprehensive assessment of every scientific study on the health impact of new roads in developed countries.
Again, the Medical Research Council took a broad view of health, one that included injuries, illnesses related to pollution and psychological health. Despite applying such a broad definition, they found that existing studies had obtained only strong evidence about how new roads affect injury rates.
The authors expressed "surprise" over the lack of evidence available on the affects that car fumes or traffic noise have on people's health when new roads are opened.
The research was conducted as part of a British government funded initiative to provide useable evidence applicable to the creation of more effective health policies. It is hoped by the scientists that if policy-makers better understand both the advantages and disadvantages of building roads and owning cars they will be able to make more informed decisions that will ultimately make the roads a safer place.
These studies point out the complexity of trying to assess the varied health impacts of road networks. As one author commented, "Car use is associated with obesity and pollution whilst the Red Cross has predicted that by 2020 road accidents will be the world's third biggest cause of death and disability. So it's vital that we aim to reduce the many harmful effects associated with cars."
These issues also apply in the Republic given the 337 people known by the Garda to have died on our roads last year.
Dr Matt Egan is based at Glasgow's Medical Research Council Public Health Unit. He is on placement at The Irish Times as a British Association for the Advancement of Science Media Fellow.