Negotiating Transport, Travel and Traffic, Part 2: Motor-Mobility, Traffic Risk and Road Safety

Abstract

This chapter follows on directly from Chap. 7 , as the transport theme moves from walking and cycling to motor-mobility, but it brings to the fore a very different set of mobility experiences. Young people discuss their views and experiences of travelling in the shared space of the motor vehicle: motor-mobility not only enables an extended spatial reach but introduces an environment rich in potential for both welcome and abhorrent interactions (squeezed bodies and wandering hands, the heavy beat of the latest popular music, rude jokes, raucous laughter, sexual innuendo, etc.). Also, for many, the ever-present, nagging fear that forces—human or occult—may bring the journey, the vehicle and all its occupants to an untimely end. The threat of injury from traffic accidents is a significant risk factor in young lives; the final part of the chapter presents young people’s perceptions of risk and their experiences of traffic-related accidents (including as pedestrians).