On this day in 1580, Francis Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. He returned with the spoils of civilizations he and his crew had encountered on their journey: treasures of exotic material worth and treasures of knowledge. Later, he would be knighted by Queen Elizabeth I for completing his valuable and dangerous quest. But can you imagine anyone making that trip nowadays, what with the gas prices?
Last week in Toronto and countless other auto-reliant towns across North America, the state of the gas pumps brought out the most impatient side of already harried motorists. As has been peppering recent newspapers and TV reports, the effects of the hurricanes and tropical storms in the southern U.S. have taken a toll on the oil industry, as many of the key fuel sources in the area are currently out of commission.
The prices at the pumps have resulted in driver frenzy. Radio stations like 680 News had callers speculating on prices across the GTA, with one estimate from Chatham even allegedly reaching $1.75. Consequently, motorists drove themselves in a chaotic mania to their nearest service station to slurp up the last of the gas before the already high prices skyrocketed even further. Line-ups spilled into the streets, with some gas providers even finding their resources tapped dry. This was not just filling up for the weekend-this was panic.
Psychologist Roger Brown has suggested in his studies that the chaos generated in a group panic situation is not caused by perceived anonymity in masses of people, rendering individuals free to act like barbarians. Rather, he argued that the disorderly conduct results from a lack of alternatives. For example, when a fire breaks out in a crowded auditorium and only one exit is available, audiences will crawl over each other to fend for their own survival. However, if a number of options are accessible, freak-outs are far less likely. Consider, for example, the smooth and speedy evacuation of the multi-exited Air France flight that recently made its emergency landing at Pearson.
So, extrapolating this social psychology, it is clear that Torontonians perceive there to be no viable alternative to their car-happy culture. All the public service announcements and For Better or For Worse creator Lynn Johnston’s “walk-don’t-drive” poster campaign have been in vain. For all the bike shops, TTC stops, and increasingly available hybrid car models, the majority of the driving public is still stuck in the 1950s, when pollution was mostly considered a metaphor.
As Douglas Adams suggests in his Hitchhiker series, “Don’t panic!” Instead, open your eyes. If the prices at the pumps rise into the dollar-plus range, it’s time to glance around at the alternatives. Likely, some of them will be whizzing past you in the bike lane while you wait in line.
