Cars and behaviour: psychological barriers to car restraint ... - iapsc

With the compact combustion engine, running on fossil fuels, he has acquired the most
advanced form of individual mobility. In short, with the car, man has reached a
provisional peak in his 'auto'-regulative capacity. Because homo sapiens was
originally a nomadic hunter-gatherer, our response to the opportunities for mobility
offered by the car are a direct extension of tendencies anchored deep in our genetic and
neural make-up. In addition, the car makes our 'auto'-regulative capacity available on an
individual basis. Both lower and higher animal species (including humans) almost
always prefer situations and devices with the most 'auto'-regulative potential or
opportunity for autonomy. The individual freedom that the car offers is therefore not a
by-product but the principal motives for car ownership and use .
Cars and power
An increase in individual freedom of movement means an increase in power. The car is
a ‘magnifying technique’, a technique that magnifies and reinforces qualities which
human beings already possess, such as the power of mobility, the ability to mark out
territory or to attack and to defend. The car increases human power and speed to such
an extent that it also constitutes an increase in a qualitative sense. With the aid of the
car, man is capable of claiming territory practically anywhere in the world. This is a
completely new phenomenon. Never before have so many people had the opportunity to
claim territory - albeit temporarily - simply by driving there or by parking.
Another aspect of the territorial character of the car is its function as a second living
room which. Like the traditional coach, we can take with us wherever we go and furnish
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