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Vehicles serve as weapons as in cases of assult, abduction, rape, gang warfare, terrorism, suicide and homicide. It is part of our car culture, wheresuch violent actions have largely been normalized in part because of our ever increasing violent society.
The engines roar, the wheels turn, and we hear the screams of disaster. Ther person behind the wheel? It may not be an "immature" young driver, but someone with greying tempels seeking revenge or enforcing personal standards of roadway morality; a spurned lover bent on self-destruction; and enraged trucker tailgating a family sedan; a young man aggressively seeking his right on the road; a sociopath bent on cold blooded revenge; or an ideologue enforcing his beliefs. Rather than being a random crash, the event could have resulted form intentional violence.
Violence engendered by motor vehicles is and should be recognized as serious. It includes a wide array of deviant behaviors and social situations that result in death, physical injury, psychological harm, economic losses, and property damage. The violence varies in severity, frequency and immediacy, and the extent to which the vehicle serves as a primary or secondary platform for engaging in harmful activities.
Homicide, road rage, suicide, sabotage, car jacking, drive-by-shootings, smash-and-grabs, hit and runs, police chases, auto theft, rape and auto break-ins are some of the violent measures that reflect the use of a motor vehicle. The driver we may have accidentally or intentionally cut off, and who acts enraged towards us, may be the same person who violates another road user. Drivers we pass or meet as we head towards our destinations may be ticking time bombs ready to explode. Shady figures that add spice to a city's street life may be intent on stealing a parked car and initiating a police chase that ends in serious injury or death. Vehicle violence reflects violence in society. Its relevance to traffic safety, public health and health promotion should be dealt with accordingly. This book offers a trove of unprecedented research for sociologists, criminologists, police, policy makers, public health professionals and the general public. The book is written in accessible style that speaks to our fascination with car culture and true crime stories
Chapters are: Roads Et Cetera, Towards a More Violent Society, Symbols and Messages, Corporate Interests, State Sponosred Violence, Violence Against Nature, The Vehicle and Crime Context, Roadway Workers as Victims of Violence, Vengeful Driving and Road Rage, Sexual Assault, Fleeing: Hit and Run, Carjacking and Kidnapping, Suicide, Gang Violence and Drive-By Shooting, Bombing and Burning, Vehicle as Smoking Gun: Homicide
Excerpt
Self-interest in traffic, from a psychoanalyst’s view, stems from the fact that people are the centre of their own worlds, seeking what they believe is in their best interest and avoiding that which is not in their interest. The search for personal best interest beyond all other goals leads us into competitive situations with others who also seek what is best for them. This is nowhere more evident than on public roadways.
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