Now living in England, I'm amazed how people just take their cars to a pub and drive back home like it's nothing. And considering how busy my local pub is, some do it on a daily basis.
In England and Wales people often take their children to pubs. So not everyone's drinking alcohol - many are having food or just non-alcoholic drinks.
If you think someone going to a restaurant or café and driving home isn't madness, then neither is someone going to the pub in England or Wales.
Indeed, this seems like a healthy progression of things. The dangers of alcohol abuse are now well known and it's disappointing that so many activities still revolve around the use of the substance.
What's at issue here, though, is that there's nothing obvious to replace these types of places for social gathering in common spaces.
It’s not that bad, at least in Westminster/RBKC. Westminster has super liberal parking policies, so you can park anywhere except TFL red routes without getting your car towed. Traffic is so and so, but the stress of parking is completely eliminated.
The tube? Hot, smelly, crowded. I’d rather sit in my air conditioned car.