I wrote this recently:

I increasingly wonder if there’s something about driving itself which creates this state of mind. If simply being in an enclosed vehicle with doors and locks creates the fear that those doors will be forced open. If the very safety and security of the suburbs-and-cars life actually induces a sort of paranoia. Maybe how you handle having things to lose is a test of your character.

One of the things I think about, looking forward to owning a house one day, is whether I will become one of those people who wonders why anybody is out walking. “What are they up to?” “Should we call the police?” I can laugh at that now, but I wonder how much I will have to resist those attitudes which the suburban lifestyle seems in some way to trigger.

I think I might be on to something...