Americans have an undying love affair with their cars. We also find ourselves at a crossroads so-to-speak. The environment is slowly choking on our exhaust fumes and gas is more expensive than ever before plus traffic commutes can be brutal. Car pooling is slowly becoming the hippest way to get from point a to point b.

So, what exactly is car pooling? You simply find a few people in your neighborhood that work either in the same office or in the same area. (If you are lucky enough to work for a particularly progressive company that allows you to work from home, carpooling can apply to soccer games and even ballet recitals.) Members of the group take turns being the driver. Ideally, at the end of the week, everyone has driven at least once and you have a little more coin in your pocket. In addition to a healthy bottom line, our collective respiratory health improves as well.

Enthusiasts and officials have gotten on board the carpooling trend. Car-pooling seems to be the magic bullet to solve a multitude of problems in one fell swoop. Car-pooling is the best way to conserve precious non-renewable resources. We all have the die-hard ?Go Green? campaigner in our office, start feeling a little better about your carbon footprint. Sharing the car also results in a reduction in air pollution.

However, carpooling setbacks such as a habitual late member can drive you crazy. When one person is dragging, everyone is a bit late. However, the constant reprimands of a group will likely whip that sleepyhead into shape.

The car-sharing concept is picking up speed all over the place. It is now possible to register online for actual car-pooling matching, this way we can cherry pick all of the people in the area with like hours and location matches. It is also important to nail down exactly what the group of car-poolers will pay weekly. It is customary for the group to split the costs of the trip equally. Obviously, everyone should drive their car so that the charges are evenly distributed.

You may elect a driver for the whole week, however, the passengers should all agree on a decent and fair compensation for such ideas. Soon, ride-sharing may be the industry standard. You may be rewarded with extended comfort, clean air and some extra money when you car-pool to work. To find further information about car pooling, websites like RideshareOptimizer.com can help you find a carpool group in your area.