The Modern Moloch

Influence Tactics

Motordom, a coalition of car industry advocates, strategically influenced public perception to promote car culture in cities. They shifted the narrative by suggesting that accidents were caused by reckless behavior, not cars themselves, echoing the NRA's "guns don't kill people, people do" slogan 1. This tactic aimed to make streets car-friendly by blaming pedestrians for accidents, thus starting a "turf war" over street space 1.

The cause of accidents is men, not machines.

--- Roman Mars

Additionally, they used psychological tactics, such as ridiculing jaywalkers, to control pedestrian behavior and clear streets for cars 2.

   

Blame Shift

Motordom's influence extended to redefining blame for traffic accidents, shifting it from cars to individuals. By promoting the idea of "reckless pedestrians," they repurposed the term "jaywalking" from a benign insult to a legal offense, thus altering public perception 3. This redefinition was crucial in changing the narrative around street safety, making it seem as though cars belonged on the streets while pedestrians were the intruders 1.

You can exonerate the machine if you blame the driver.

--- Peter Norton

This strategy was part of a broader campaign to ensure that urban environments were designed with cars in mind, ultimately leading to the construction of infrastructure like wider streets and expressways 3.