It's not always a conscious decision, but that doesn't mean it isn't sometimes. I would argue that many more bad drivers are just bad drivers rather than they can't help it. I could be very wrong about that, but it won't change my anger when someone almost causes a pile up because they didn't look before changing lanes, you know?

I do agree that having poor/no public transportation (and no sidewalks!) is terrible, and I think a lot of cities that want to keep their residents alive are working to fix that, such as the city I live in. They're adding sidewalks in a bunch of places and making downtown more walkable, but it doesn't change the fact that it's still mostly stroads!