I agree, most driving is non-essential. But in a society where public transport is shit, it is simply inefficient to use it. EG, I work 9 miles from where I live. To use a train, it would take over an hour. In the car, it takes 15 minutes. On a bus, it would take about 30 minutes, so better than train, but the cost of it would be £30 a week, which is far higher than the cost of the car, which is so much quicker and more convenient and can also be used to transport things.
I'm not arguing that car use is great - I'm just arguing that in a society which has prioritised it over other modes of transport, it is simply the most convenient form there is and to opt out of it usually causes a deal of inconvenience. That may change with parking charges, congestion, different road priorities etc., but at present, although a lot of lip service is being paid to "shared space", ie pedestrians and cyclists having equal use of the road, in reality, town planning is all about keeping traffic (cars) moving, so being any other sort of road user is bloody inconvenient. Which doesn't mean I approve of it or am in favour of it (quite the contrary, I would love to see cycle lanes everywhere and cars slowed to 5mph at all times in order to give cyclists and pedestrians total priority, but I just know that's not going to happen).