From traveling to different European cities, I have noticed people ride bikes, walk, or use public transportation but almost never use cars. I have family friends who live in Barcelona and they have two daughters, one of which 18. Although the 18-year-old can get her license, she has no need for one because she can use public transportation. The only time my family friends drive is when they go on trips with their family. When they do go on trips, their parents drive.
I believe that most people in America drive because they are taught from a young age that it is "cool" to drive. Because most teens get their license as soon as they can, they become accustomed to driving everywhere and have no need to stop driving. I believe that most people drive themselves in the U.S. because there are not as many public transportation options. Biking and walking is often times not an option for Americans due to distance and the amount of time it would take to get from place to place. This means that Americans have a very large carbon footprint because of their driving habits.
Although I  could not find any statistics, I am curious to see what everyone thinks about this. Do you believe that this is due to culture? Do you believe that the usage of cars has to do with how spread out a city is? Do you believe that teens feel pressured to get their license and do you think this contributes to their driving habits in the future? Do you think that if Americans had more accessible public transportation their carbon footprint would go down?

Personally I think that we avoid public transport because it takes longer than driving. For example a bus needs to make stops, while driving takes you directly from point A to point B. We live in a society that praises instant/quick gratification, which I believe contributes to the issue.