It’s more than just the abundance of cars, it’s also the absolute non-existence of any other transportation mode being supported. That’s also why we struggle so hard with DUI; in the US, if you’re not driving, you’re as good as fucking stranded. That’s not entirely true, you could gather your chutzpah and hike or bike however many miles with shitty, dangerous, or non-existent pedestrian infrastructure, or you might be lucky enough to be able to catch a bus or an Uber, but it’s not like Europe or Japan where everything’s dense enough that walking is actually practical. How real is it? Well, I’ve had three European and two Japanese exchange students and they’ve all said that the biggest culture shock was the loss of independence that came with suddenly being dependent on a car to go and do anything. That complete car dependence means that we have to have looser restrictions on our drivers so that people can go about their daily life. It means that we’ve got a lot of people driving who probably wouldn’t if they had some practical alternative; folks who probably treat it like a chore and aren’t as engaged with it as they should be.