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Car crashes and dead end careers: Leisure pursuits of the Finnish subculture of the kortteliralli street racing
Abstract
Investigation into subcultures seems to be progressively vanishing from the landscape of cultural studies. Since the work of the Center of Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) in Birmingham in the 1970s and 1980s, we have seen the dramatic rise of virtual communities as mediated through ever- expanding global lines of communication ; in the field of social science, the practice of categorization has been increasingly criticized due to the influence of deconstructio nism; and somewhere between history and social thought there has been the gradual disappearance of class as a social construct. For example, when considering the relationship between gender and age within the field of criminology, James Messerschmidt has replaced the notion of 'class' with 'position in social structures' in his 1993 analyses on masculinities and crime. And in 1996, authors Jan Pakulski and Malcolm Waters went so far as to proclaim The Death of Class. As a result, identity as a topic of study has been increasingly represented as fluid and contextual, unbound by geographical space, relation to production, or social standing. This paper represents a revisit of the Birmingham approach to the study of subcultures in an investigation into the Finnish phenomenon of street racing; an underground practice of engineering, illegal racing of automobiles, and cruising on the streets of Helsinki. And true to the tradition of the CCCS, the subject is practiced as oppositional by young, working class males. To emphasize our revisit to the Birmingham approach, we use the notion of class, and define it by the criteria of education and occupational role. The Cruising Club boys spent 9 years in comprehensive school and 1 to 3 years
... The majority of the limited available literature has identified street racers as predominantly young males aged 16-24 years (Armstrong and Steinhardt, 2006;Falconer and Kingham, 2007;Knight et al., 2004;Leigh, 1996;Palk et al., 2011;Smart et al., 2011;Vaaranen and Wieloch, 2002). These street racers are also typified by a history of involvement with other risky behaviours. ...
... Demographic variables included sex (female, male), age (18-25 years, 26-35 years, 36+ years), marital status (married or common law, previously married, never married), education (< high school, completed high school, some post-secondary, university degree), income (<$30,000, $30,000-49,999, $50,000-79,999, $80,000+, not stated), and region of residence (comprised of six regions in Ontario: Toronto, Central East, Central West, West, East, North). The breakdown for age categories was selected to reflect and further explore the more frequent prevalence of street racing among young drivers (Armstrong and Steinhardt, 2006;Falconer and Kingham, 2007;Knight et al., 2004;Leigh, 1996;Palk et al., 2011;Smart et al., 2011;Vaaranen and Wieloch, 2002). Weekly driving distance, included as a control for differences in exposure, was treated as a continuous variable. ...
... The number of street racing incidents may have been much greater given that these drivers likely engaged in the behaviour more than once. The study's results also lend support to the findings of previous research suggesting that street racers consist of predominantly young male drivers (Armstrong and Steinhardt, 2006;Falconer and Kingham, 2007;Knight et al., 2004;Leigh, 1996;Palk et al., 2011;Vaaranen and Wieloch, 2002), and thus confirms that prevention efforts should be targeted specifically at this demographic group. ...
Background:
Street racing has been identified as a significant public health concern, yet, little is known about the prevalence of this behaviour and its impact on collision risk. The current study was designed to address this dearth of knowledge by estimating the prevalence of street racing among the Ontario, Canada adult population, and examining its association to collision risk, controlling for demographics and other risk factors.
Methods:
Data were based on telephone interviews with 11,263 respondents derived from the 2009-2014 cycles of the CAMH Monitor, an ongoing cross-sectional survey of adults aged 18+ years. A hierarchical-entry binary logistic regression analysis of collision involvement in the previous 12 months was conducted and included measures of street racing, demographic characteristics (sex, age, marital status, education, income, region), driving exposure, and driving after use of alcohol and use of cannabis.
Results:
The prevalence of street racing was 0.9%. Based on univariate analyses, street racing was more prevalent among males (1.30%; p<.01) and those aged 18-25 years (2.61%; p<.001). Controlling for demographic characteristics, driving exposure, and driving after use of alcohol and use of cannabis, self-reported street racing significantly increased the odds of a crash (OR=5.23, p<.001).
Discussion:
A small but significant percentage of adult drivers in Ontario reported engaging in street racing. Even after adjusting for demographics, driving exposure, and driving after use of alcohol and use of cannabis, street racers faced more than a five-fold increase in the odds of a crash. Program and policy options must be considered to target this contingent.
... Illegal motorcycle street racing is popular in Malaysia compared to illegal car racing as reported among developed countries. Illegal motorcycle street racing is dangerous and a public concern as it involves reckless and risky riding behaviour and illegal activities including snatching, anti-social behaviour, substance abuse, and spending time in nonorganized activities (Bina, Graziano, & Bonino, 2006 ;Falconer & Kingham, 2007;Ismail & Borhanuddin, 2009;Vaaranen, 2004;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). Illegal motorcycle street racing involved the use of underbone motorcycles (Kapcai) on public roads. ...
... This behaviour is locally referred as 'merempit' and it is a form of risky behaviour among young men (or Mat rempit as locally refer to) in Malaysia. These mat rempit comprise of young men who are school leavers, unemployed and those who are still in school or college, or are already secured a job such as blue collar workers (Falconer & Kingham, 2007;Folkman, 2005;Leigh (1996;Vaaranen, 2004;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). ...
... More than 50% of these teenagers are smokers, hang around and watch pornography. These findings are in accord with those of Vaaranen & Wieloch (2002), Folkman (2005), Falconer and Kingham (2007), Leigh (1996), andVaaranen (2004), who concluded that most street racers are predominantly young, working class males, often in blue collar jobs or unemployed although some have attended trade schools or technical colleges. Many have performed poorly in school and engaged in other risky activities, such as substance use, risky driving, and criminal activity (Falconer & Kingham, 2007;Vaaranen 2004;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). ...
The prevalence of motorcycle street racing is increasing in Malaysia and has become a major public concern. As a major focus of the international studies were on illegal car racing overseas, and there are only a limited number of studies address illegal motorcycle street racing. Thus, this study aims to examine the high-risk activities of motorcycle street racers, their personality and the association of personality with aggressiveness. This cross-sectional study involved 138 at risk adolescents who were engaged in illegal motorcycle street racing. Data were collected using three validated questionnaires – Big Five Inventory to measure personality, Impulsive Sensation Seeking Scale to measure sensation seeking trait, and the Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire to assess aggressiveness. The results showed that the majority of the respondents were not only engaged in illegal street racing but also involved in other high-risk activities, such as pornography, illegal abortion, fighting, and gambling. Neuroticism and sensation seeking were found to be associated and were good predictors of the aggression domain, such as physical aggression and anger. However, only sensation seeking and neuroticism were good predictors for verbal aggression and the hostility domain. Hence, it is very important to understand their personality trait and level of aggression beforehand in order to develop a suitable programme for this special group of adolescents as well as to find ways to channel their sensation seeking behaviour or aggression to positive effect.
DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s1p527
... Thus the skinhead subculture, and how criminal behavior is invested with meaning in its racist and right-wing ideological context, has been studied in both Norway and Finland (Fangen 1998;Perho 2000; see also Bjørgo 2005). Vaaranen and Wieloch (2002) studied the illegal street racing subculture among young males involved in just about every kind of illegal activity related to traffic (speeding, drunken driving, driving without a license, fleeing from the police). Uniquely, their study was based on participant observation. ...
... The two mainly qualitative articles in our sample of articles published in criminology journals can also be classified as realist-ethnographic based on life history and ethnographic observation (Nieminen 2004;Wästerfors 2009). Vaaranen and Wieloch (2002) observed that the realist-ethnographic kind of qualitative inquiry was, unfortunately, progressively vanishing from the landscape of cultural studies. Its place was gradually being taken by the postmodernist type of qualitative research that deals with how people talk about juvenile crime. ...
... Surprised by the relative lack of qualitative research of delinquent behavior within criminology journals, we made some extra efforts to locate such research. Some impressive realist-ethnographic studies of delinquent subcultures emerged (e.g., Perho 2000;Fondén 2001;Severinsen 2002;Vaaranen and Wieloch 2002), often published in the Nordic youth research journal Young. Nevertheless, such contributions can hardly be described as a major emphasis in Nordic research on delinquent behavior. ...
Research on delinquent behavior has traditionally been a core emphasis of Nordic criminological research. Historically, Nordic cooperation in criminology began with the world’s first ever internationally comparative survey of self-reported delinquency, the Nordic Draftee Research program, 1961–64. Youths of the five Nordic nations tend to manifest relatively similar prevalence levels of delinquent behavior, with a partial exception that Danish adolescents have above-average levels of substance use and property offending. During the 1990s, Danish, Finnish and Swedish surveys revealed a consistent rise in the number of law-abiding youths, a trend explained by a coincidence of multiple social changes: diminishing cohort sizes, the rise of the surveillance society, increasingly conservative and anticrime attitudes among youths, and changing routine activities, some of which may have resulted in crime type displacement (from traditional theft to computer-related crime) instead of overall crime reduction. Reviewed articles in core journals reveal that focal concerns of Nordic delinquency researchers have been social problems–related research, the question of generality versus specialization of delinquency, longitudinal research in individual-level risk factors, methodological research, and research on the social causation of delinquency.
... However, in both the Helsinki and the Los Angeles streetracing subcultures, a car-oriented masculinity involved communication through manual skills and horsepower. The street racers build a social community with reciprocal relations and a sense of belonging as noted in a previous study by Vaaranen and Wieloch (2002). As the street-racing boys felt socially and materially incompetent to enter the challenges of the bigger world, they focused on their peers and after-hours lives on the streets and at the cruising club. ...
... They were literally "just living one day at a time," or STREET RACING IN HELSINKI 97 sometimes, "a minute at a time," 12 endlessly testing their courage and pushing the edge of daring and skill a little further. As noted earlier (Vaaranen and Wieloch 2002), this seemed to speed their way toward only two possible outcomes: deadend jobs or death by car accident. ...
... But doing it with humor meant also doing it with pride. The engineering that economically concentrated on the engine left the rest of the vehicle subject to cosmetic engineering with stickers, animal-skin-imitation seat covers, and furniture spray paint (Vaaranen and Wieloch 2002). I have even seen cars put together with package tape. ...
Reproduction of social class through culture has puzzled social scientists especially in the Nordic, advanced welfare states where social equality has been the official policy of governments for most of the postwar period. In the following article, I address this issue through the emotional experience of class that culminates in the weekend excesses of youths and even the street-racing scenes of Helsinki. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with eighteen- to twenty-four-year-old male street racers of Helsinki, I argue that stagnant class locations build on stunted ambition and feelings of injustice. The cultural performances and camaraderie of these like-minded racers support these youths’ public, carefree identities and subcultural careers. Instead of resisting exclusion, they conform to it, celebrating “a room of his own” where shared risk, craftsmanship, driving skill, and disregard of education prevail.
... Despite the intense media interest in this phenomenon, it has largely escaped the attention of academic researchers, with the exception of a few studies (see Hatton 1999;Bengry-Howell 2001O'Dell 2001;Vaaranen & Wieloch 2002;Brownlie et al. 2005). This oversight is surprising considering the extensive literature that has been generated by British researchers on how young people appropriate clothes-based fashions and styles to signify their association with youth subcultural and other youth cultural forms (see Hebdige 1979;Willis et al. 1990;Miles et al. 1998;Miles 2000;Muggleton 2000). ...
... Youth research, particularly that which draws on subcultural theory, often aggregates the identity work and cultural practices of individual young people and considers them in terms of their collective significance (Hebdige 1979;Brake 1995;Thornton 1995;Muggleton 2000). The car modifiers interviewed for this study frequently resisted calls to collectivity, and repeatedly endorsed a heavily individualised discourse of consumption. ...
... In such cases, Willis argues, consumption is transformed through cultural practice into production. Practices such as car modification (Hatton 1999;Vaaranen & Wieloch 2002;Bengry-Howell 2005;Brownlie et al. 2005) and car customisation (Marsh & Collett 1986;Bailey 1986;O'Dell 2001;Mellström 2004) provide compelling examples of how young people's consumption of mass-produced standard cars is transformed by their symbolic labour into the production of culturally 'unique' vehicles. ...
This paper explores how motorcars and car-based cultural practices operate in the construction of young working-class masculine identities. It draws on ethnographic fieldwork conducted during the summer of 2002 with young male car modifiers from the Midlands and North Wales who associated with the British cruising scene. Although this study is broadly framed by the youth cultural world of cruising, it does not approach car modification as a collective cultural phenomenon or draw on subcultural theory, but instead examines young men's relationships with their cars in terms of general theories of consumption and identity and theories of cultural production. The car modifiers participating in this study frequently resisted calls to collectivity and repeatedly endorsed a heavily individualised discourse of consumption. As consumers of the motorcar, they constituted themselves as absolutely individual on the basis of their ownership of modified cars that they constituted as culturally unique. Car modification operated as a set of identity practices organised around the active consumption and symbolic manipulation of standard motorcars and the cultural production of idiosyncratic signifiers of masculine identity. Through car modification, young working-class men discursively distanced themselves from the mass of standard car-owning subjects and constituted themselves as ‘unique’ car-owning individuals who were culturally privileged. This claim to privilege was predicated on their capacity to produce highly conspicuous motorcars, which they viewed as a source of considerable cultural capital.
... An alternative method of exploring the road safety implications of behaviour is to examine the general riskiness of drivers who engage in the behaviours of interest. For example, Finnish research suggests that drivers who engage in illegal street racing have a history of crash involvement, as most of the "cruising club" boys observed in the study revealed that they had been involved in six or seven crashes (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). ...
... The majority of these crashes occurred when the driver lost control at a high speed, and the car ran off the road (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). This research also found that heavy alcohol use and careless risk-taking were common among street racers (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). ...
... The majority of these crashes occurred when the driver lost control at a high speed, and the car ran off the road (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). This research also found that heavy alcohol use and careless risk-taking were common among street racers (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). ...
The purpose of this study was to explore the road safety implications of illegal street racing and associated risky driving behaviours. This issue was considered in two ways: Phase 1 examined the descriptions of 848 illegal street racing and associated risky driving offences that occurred in Queensland, Australia, in order to estimate the risk associated with these behaviours; and Phase 2 examined the traffic and crash histories of the 802 male offenders involved in these offences, and compared them to those of an age-matched comparison group, in order to examine the risk associated with the driver. It was found in Phase 1 that only 3.7% of these offences resulted in a crash (none of which were fatal), and that these crashes tended to be single-vehicle crashes where the driver lost control of the vehicle and collided with a fixed object. Phase 2 found that the offender sample had significantly more traffic infringements, licence sanctions and crashes in the previous three years than the comparison group. It was concluded that while only a small proportion of racing and associated offences result in a crash, these offenders appear to be generally risky drivers that warrant special attention.
... These events can be well-organized, with start and finish lines marked a quarter of a mile apart (the traditional distance for drag races) [8]. Some groups use walkie-talkies and even police tape and false signs to block the traffic for the duration of the race [9], while others use rolling road blocks. In Canada, street racing can also include an activity known as a " hat race " , where participants put money into a hat and the money is taken to an undisclosed location. ...
... A small proportion (n = 103, 1.86%) were held for three months for a second offense, while 13 were eligible for permanent forfeiture to the state for third (n = 11, 0.20%) and fourth (n = 2, 0.04%) offenses (Queensland Police Service, unpublished data). These drivers are typically young males [4], consistent with international trends [3,56789, and these offenses primarily occurred on weekends. However, only about one fifth of these offenses involved illegal street racing or speed trials on roads [4], which may indicate that illegal street racing is less common than the other behaviors addressed by Queensland legislation, or that the other offenses are easier for police to detect. ...
... However, the reader should note that the authors [11] did not limit the focus of their study to illegal street racing, as is the case in the present study, as they included crashes involving associated risky driving behaviors (i.e., hooning) in their analyses. Finnish research suggests that drivers who engage in street racing have a history of crash involvement, as most of the " cruising club " boys observed in the study revealed that they had been involved in six or seven crashes; most of them minor, although some were fatal [9]. The majority of these crashes occurred when the driver lost control at a high speed, and the car ran off the road [9]. ...
Illegal street racing has received increased attention in recent years from road safety professionals and the media as jurisdictions in Australia, Canada, and the United States have implemented laws to address the problem, which primarily involves young male drivers. Although some evidence suggests that the prevalence of illegal street racing is increasing, obtaining accurate estimates of the crash risk of this behavior is difficult because of limitations in official data sources. Although crash risk can be explored by examining the proportion of incidents of street racing that result in crashes, or the proportion of all crashes that involve street racing, this paper reports on the findings of a study that explored the riskiness of involved drivers. The driving histories of 183 male drivers with an illegal street racing conviction in Queensland, Australia, were compared with a random sample of 183 male Queensland drivers with the same age distribution. The offender group was found to have significantly more traffic infringements, license sanctions, and crashes than the comparison group. Drivers in the offender group were more likely than the comparison group to have committed infringements related to street racing, such as speeding, "hooning," and offenses related to vehicle defects or illegal modifications. Insufficient statistical capacity prevented full exploration of group differences in the type and nature of earlier crashes. It was concluded, however, that street racing offenders generally can be considered risky drivers who warrant attention and whose risky behavior cannot be explained by their youth alone.
... Illegal street racing has received significant negative media attention in recent years, reflecting general public concern (Glensor & Peak, 2005; Knight, Cook, & Olson, 2004; Peak & Glensor, 2004; Vaaranen, 2004; Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002; Warn, Tranter, & Kingham, 2004). For example, in an investigation undertaken by the Canadian Road Safety Monitor, it was found that the majority of respondents were concerned or extremely concerned about illegal street racing, and considered it a serious problem (Beirness, Mayhew, Simpson, & Desmond, 2004; Singhal, Simpson, Vanlaar, & Mayhew, 2006). ...
... More smoke is generated if the road surface has oil or petrol spills. 2 A donut is when the driver turns the front tyres until the steering is fully locked during a burn out, so that the car rotates and a circular (donut) pattern of tread marks remains on the road surface.and false signs to block the traffic for the duration of the race (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). Others may use rolling road blocks 6 to stage a race in the middle of a highway or other large multi-laned road. ...
... The available evidence suggests that it is predominantly young (age 16 to 25) males involved in the illegal street racing scene (Leigh, 1996; Peak & Glensor, 2004; Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002; Warn et al., 2004), however the number of females attending events is increasing (Armstrong & Steinhardt, 2005). It appears that these are transitory activities, as most people do not continue to participate for more than two or three years (Leigh, 1996). ...
Street racing and associated (hooning) behaviours have attracted growing community concern in Australia, and internationally, over recent years. Governments have responded by introducing legislation designed to address the behaviours, and allocating significant police resources to managing the problem. All Australian states and territories, and New Zealand, have now implemented “anti-hooning” countermeasures, typically involving impounding the vehicles of offenders for increasing periods of time for subsequent offences, ultimately leading to forfeiture of the vehicle. For example, among other sanctions imposed, the vehicles of drivers charged with an offence under this legislation in Queensland are impounded for 48 hours for a first offence, three months after a second offence within three years, and may be forfeited to the state after a third offence within three years. Since the introduction of the legislation in November 2002 and until the end of 2006, 3,221 vehicles have been impounded for a period of 48 hours. A small number of vehicles have been impounded for a second (72, 2.2%), third (4, 0.1%) or fourth (1, 0.03%) hooning offence. Although most hooning offenders are young males, a group known to be over-represented in crash statistics, hooning offenders have not been profiled in a systematic way, and the possibility that sub-groups of drivers exist has not been explored. This paper aims to address these research needs to inform future research and management of "anti-hooning" legislation.
... Young, predominantly male drivers in the age range of 16 and 25 years are typically those identified as involved in racing and 'hooning.' This is a pattern that has been largely confirmed by research of racers and those congregating around car scenes in Australia, the United States and Finland (Knight, Cook, & Olson, 2004;Leigh, 1996;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). It has been proposed in relation to illegal street racing that it is a relatively transient pastime given the small and young age range in which this behaviour occurs, suggesting that those involved tend to grow out of it after a couple of years (Leigh, 1996). ...
... Leigh (1996) has gone further and argued that those involved in these activities are largely mainstream citizens who have an active interest in motor sports. Conversely, others (see Gwinn et al., 2002;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002) argue that illegal street racing and social meets are not only associated with criminal activity, but actively encourage and develop it. As such, one pertinent question that remains to be resolved is whether those who engage in these activities are a deviant subculture, are a part of the mainstream car enthusiast culture, or are a mixture of multiple subgroups that entail parts of both. ...
... Likewise, it is arguable that the activities are socially constructed and socially reinforced. Therefore, while macro-level struggles and issues may lead some youth in the direction of these illegal driving activities (Leigh, 1996;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002), peer group and parental influences work to reinforce a lifestyle and way of thought that allows these intentions to become a displayed behaviour. Whether this reinforcement takes the form of direct encouragement or not is regarded as unimportant in this current context. ...
Street racing can take the form of spontaneous one-to-one racing or highly organised
events, while "hooning" generally refers to activities such as burnouts or excessive
acceleration. Recent media reports have highlighted the potential for fatalities or injuries and the public nuisance caused by these behaviours. Subsequently, formal "anti-hooning"legislation has been passed in four Australian states and New Zealand. In the last two years since the introduction of Queensland’s 'anti-hoon' legislation, over 1500 vehicles have been impounded and over 4100 disturbance complaints registered. Official Queensland police reports have registered 169 ‘hooning’ or racing crashes involving 12-24 year olds in the period 1999-2004. Current research suggests those involved are typically young males aged between 16 and 25. The current investigation used a combination of focus groups, e-mail responses and message board feedback to conduct an examination of the experiences and perceptions of young people in regards to ‘hooning’ behaviour and legislative reforms. It is proposed that the results can be used to inform existing legislation and the assist in the development of interventions from both a youth and Queensland Police Service perspective.
... Illegal racing has been described as a domestic approach for an individual to rebel against parents, the public, and the authorities (Ismail, R. & Burhanuddin, 2009;Leigh, 1996). It is also an activity that involves risky and aggressive driving (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002) that causes the perpetrator to violate social norms and values, and traffic regulations (D. Parker et al., 2000). Edwards (2001) noted that youths on motorcycles often perform dangerous actions on the road and act violently to the extent of harassing other road users, in addition to reckless driving and risky illegal behaviours such as snatching money, displaying aggressive behaviour, and frequently engaging with spontaneous activities (Bina et al., 2006;Falconer & Kingham, 2007;Ismail, R. & Burhanuddin, 2009;Vaaranen, 2004;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). ...
... It is also an activity that involves risky and aggressive driving (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002) that causes the perpetrator to violate social norms and values, and traffic regulations (D. Parker et al., 2000). Edwards (2001) noted that youths on motorcycles often perform dangerous actions on the road and act violently to the extent of harassing other road users, in addition to reckless driving and risky illegal behaviours such as snatching money, displaying aggressive behaviour, and frequently engaging with spontaneous activities (Bina et al., 2006;Falconer & Kingham, 2007;Ismail, R. & Burhanuddin, 2009;Vaaranen, 2004;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002). They also obstruct the traffic as they tend to gather at road intersections and perform various risky stunts that put them and others at risk (Ibrahim et al., 2015). ...
Illegal motorcycle street racing is a threat to civil society-it is a symbol of adolescents' inner rebellion who channelled their unfulfilled desire through aggressive behaviour on the road, causing significant social and economic impact. Aggressive behaviours have been associated with prohibited substances intake, lack of religious knowledge, problematic family structures, and school failure. In this qualitative study, abductive strategies oriented to phenomenological approaches were employed to assess two types of aggressive behaviour risk factors, which were substance abuse and problematic family structures. In-depth interviews were conducted with thirty people in Penang, Malaysia, who participated in illegal street racing, referred to as Mat Rempits. Their responses were analysed using the NVivo software version 12. The results demonstrate three subthemes to prohibited substances intake: to relieve stress, for personal enjoyment, and for racing purposes, whereby the drugs are taken before races for the riders to be more courageous, aggressive, and agile manoeuvring the motorcycles. Meanwhile, the risk factor of family problems includes divorced and conflicted parents, raised by violence, being neglected, and not being appreciated by the family. Most of the participants stated that growing up with violence caused a psychological impact on their soul, making them stubborn, rude, and aggressive. The results demonstrate the need for a specific intervention programme for the adolescent to reduce their involvement in illegal street racing and aggressive behaviour.
... While there is increasing recognition that adolescent problematic behaviours are associated with family-related variables, research examining problem behaviours such as motorcycle street racing remains limited. Studies investigating car racing have shown that most of those involved were from a lower to middle class background8910. Jessor and Jessor's Problem Behavior Theory proposes that problem behaviours manifest in a variety of interrelated deviant, norm-violating, or health-compromising behaviours and reflect a basic underlying propensity [11,12]. There were some well-publicized empirical studies that showed adolescent and early adult problem behaviour tends to co-occur with other risky or problematic behaviours such as excessive alcohol consumption , substance abuse and sexual activity [13,14]. ...
... It has also been suggested that men strive to express their masculinity through risky activity such as reckless driving [22]. Additionally, our recent qualitative investigation on a subsample of illegal motorcycle street racers (Wong LP: In-depth understanding of health risk behaviors and needs of illegal motorcycle racers in Malaysia, submitted) as well as other studies [9,10] also revealed that respect-and honor-seeking for being brave were among the identified characteristics of masculine identity associated with street racing. Considering the important theoretical and practical implication of masculinity in this context, sound research evidence is warranted in the unique phenomena of the illegal motorcycle racing in Malaysia. ...
This study sought to understand the factors associated with street racing among the illegal motorcycle racers in Malaysia or known as the "Mat Rempit".
Street outreach interviewer-administered surveys were conducted from June 2008 to January 2009 in this multi-state study.
A total of 2022 participants were surveyed, the mean ± SD age of the participants was 20.5 ± 3.4 years (age range: 12 to 35 years). Mean duration of street racing was 2.65(SD ± 1.77) years (range: 2 months to 12 years), with 50.1% and 35.8% reporting stunt riding and alcohol drinking while racing, respectively. With regard to risk behaviours, cigarette smoking was highly prevalent among the study participants (78.3%), followed by alcohol drinking (27.8%) and recreational drug use (18.8%). Participants scored high on the masculinity scale (15.7 ± 4.0 out of 21.0). The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that socio-demographic variables, risk behaviour and masculinity scores were associated with racing frequency.
Given these associations, tailoring family-centered interventions to the needs of the lower socio-economic groups and interventions recognizing the negative consequences of health risk behaviours related to street racing as an expression of traditional masculinity should be emphasized.
... interessen som et redskap for subkulturell selvhevdelse og gruppetilhørighet (Vaaranen og Wieloch, 2002;Vaaranen, 2004;Kwon, 2004;Armstrong og Steinhardt, 2006). I min pågående studie av rallykulturen ser jeg imidlertid en mer sammensatt forståelse av personer med bilsportinteresse enn hva tidligere studier gir uttrykk for. ...
Tidligere forskning på motorsportkulturer viser vanligvis et enhetlig bilde: en gruppe unge arbeiderklassemenn der aksepten av sosial eksklusjon blir en del av subkulturens tilblivelsesgrunn. På grunnlag av en studie av FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), argumenteres det i denne artikkelen for at rallykulturen utgjør et mer mangfoldig miljø. Med etnografisk materiale fra Rally Finland 2010 argumenteres det for at rallykulturen er sammensatt på grunnlag av ideer om «forestilt likhet», der narrativt engasjement er en nøkkel til gruppeintegrasjon. Konklusjonen er ikke at klassebakgrunn eller subkultur er fraværende som forklaringsfaktorer for kulturforståelse, men at hovedkriteriet for inkludering i rallykulturen er en ærlig interesse for sporten.
... , Vol. 7, No. 6 ISSN: 2222 Majority of illegal street racers were involved in traffic violation, road rage, as well as violation of social norms and values were the findings of a study carried out by Parker and Stradling (2001). On the other hand, speeding, driving recklessly and aggressive behaviours were the findings of a study conducted by Vaaranen and Wieloch (2002). Studies carried out by Tranter and Warn (2008) and Leal and Watson (2011) on Australian street racing offenders, found that majority of them had reported having bad driving records in the last three years prior to their involvement in illegal street racing. ...
... Secara tradisinya, lumba haram dilihat sebagai satu aktiviti belia yang berkaitan dengan pemberontakan terhadap ibu bapa, masyarakat dan pihak berkuasa (Ismail & Borhanuddin, 2009;Leigh, 1996), memandu secara berisiko dan agresif (Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2002), terlibat dalam pelanggaran lalu lintas, melanggar norma-norma dan nilai-nilai sosial (Parker, McDonald, Rabbitt, & Sutcliffe, 2000). Mereka juga mengganggu pengguna jalan raya melalui sekatan jalan raya yang dilakukan oleh pihak polis, dan melakukan pelbagai aksi berisiko yang menimbulkan bahaya kepada diri sendiri dan orang lain (Ibrahim et al., 2015). ...
In Malaysia, illegal motorcycle racing activities is unlawful acts defined under Section 42 of the road transport Act (RTA) 1987 (Act 333) amendment of 1999. Illegal racing is a popular activity by a group of youth in many countries of the world. This activity is more popular in Malaysia compared with an illegal car race as reported in developed countries. Events occurring continuously since then until now easily seen almost anywhere. These symptoms still occur at any place only whether in urban or rural areas. Typically, they begin in the evening than during the day. They were riding in a group that large to disturb the peace in a public road without regard to traffic regulations. They are not only involved in the race among them but also challenging other road users to the race. Aggressive behavior is triggered as a result of external expression such as unable to adapt, not accepted in the social system and the internal pressure response suffered. Hence, this article discussed a number of risk factor of aggressive behavior such as self, family, peers and school. All the dominant risk factor has influenced the soul rebellion and manifestation of behavior among Mat Motor and Mat Rempit in the streets.
... A form of in-car community that has been discussed in great detail in the literature is cruising, i.e., a form of driving to pass time, in a mobile cocoon with friends or acquaintances. Cruising as a phenomenon is known throughout the world, including the United States (Best, 2006), the Nordic countries (Collin-Lange, 2013;Vaaranen and Wieloch, 2002;Vaaranen, 2004), and Australia (Armstrong and Steinhardt, 2006). As a form of "sociality in motion" (Brownlie et al., 2007), cruising is about in-car communities, as well as inter-car community. ...
IF YOU WANT THIS BOOK, PLEASE BE IN TOUCH.
Worldwide there are now more than one billion cars, and their number grows continuously. Yet there is growing evidence that humanity needs to reach ‘peak cars’ as increased air pollution, noise, accidents, and climate change support a decline in car usage. While many governments agree, the car remains attractive, and endeavors to change transport systems have faced fierce resistance. Based on insights from a wide range of transport behaviors, The Psychology of the Car shows the “why of automotive cultures, providing new perspectives essential for understanding its attractiveness and for defining a more desirable transport future.
The Psychology of the Car illustrates the growth of global car use over time and its effect on urban transport systems and the global environment. It looks at the adoption of the car into lifestyles, the “mobilities turn, and how the car impacts collective and personal identities. The book examines car drivers themselves; their personalities, preferences, and personality disorders relevant to driving. The book looks at the role power, control, dominance, speed, and gender play, as well as the interrelationship between personal freedom and law enforcement. The book explores risk-taking behaviors as accidental death is a central element of car driving. The book addresses how interventions can be successful as well as which interventions are unlikely to work, and concludes with how a more sustainable transport future can be created based on emerging transport trends.
... A form of in-car community that has been discussed in great detail in the literature is cruising, i.e., a form of driving to pass time, in a mobile cocoon with friends or acquaintances. Cruising as a phenomenon is known throughout the world, including the United States (Best, 2006), the Nordic countries (Collin-Lange, 2013;Vaaranen and Wieloch, 2002;Vaaranen, 2004), and Australia (Armstrong and Steinhardt, 2006). As a form of "sociality in motion" (Brownlie et al., 2007), cruising is about in-car communities, as well as inter-car community. ...
Emotions underlie human behavior and have considerable relevance for automobility. This chapter discusses functions of emotions from (evolutionary) social psychology viewpoints and draws linkages to automobile culture. Considerable attention is paid to anxieties, which permeate the automotive system on a wide range of levels and have received limited attention in the literature so far. It is argued that anxieties have great relevance for car attachment, because they address fundamental needs, necessitating car travel—obesity, old age, and an insecure outside world all require automobility. As the automobile is an unsafe space in itself, anxieties related to risk exposure (accidents, car reliability) are regularly addressed in advertisements. This soothes, but also confirms fears, and results in growing car attachment. Emotions also have great relevance in other contexts, including anger, revenge, rebellion, and escape, which represent flight-fight-fright reactions. While this confirms that negative emotions can influence transport behavior, findings also suggest that these can arise out of neglect, abuse, and trauma. To understand and change (reckless) driver behavior requires consideration of the social conditions underlying and activating such behavior.
... Although there are high prevalence of motorcar illegal racers in developed countries such as Australia, the UK, and the USA (Vaaranen, 2002;Vaaranen & Wieloch, 2004;Warn, et al, 2004), little is known about illegal street racing among motorcyclists who participating in intervention program. As there are limited research on illegal street racing (Vingilis & Smart, 2009), various research efforts have to be carried out in order to understand mat rempit population, their characteristics and behaviors. ...
Although illegal (motorcycle) street racing is alarming, little is known about the age, educational and psychological characteristics of these illegal (motorcycle) street racers (mat rempit). Therefore, the aim of this research is to examine the age, educational and selected psychological characteristics of mat rempit in Malaysia. This cross-sectional research was carried out with 197 mat rempit who participated in the Centre for Empowering Youth (Pusat Pemerkasaan Remaja—PERKASA) intervention program. A set of survey questionnaire which comprises of demographic information and measure of sensation seeking and self-esteem were administered. The correlation analysis and a series of one-way ANOVAs were carried out. The correlation analyses showed that there was a strong positive correlation between sensation seeking and global sensation. While impulsivity was strongly correlated with global sensation, impulsivity was having low positive correlation with mild offence. The ANOVA analysis showed that there was no significant difference on sensation seeking, impulsivity, global sensation, self-esteem based on different age groups. However, the only significant difference was reported on impulsivity based on education level differences. Further analysis with Tukey post hoc test showed that the significant difference on impulsivity was found between primary education group and upper secondary education group. The strong correlation between sensation seeking and global sensation has the potential to guide researchers in treating these constructs for future research. Knowledge on educational differences has the potential to facilitate understanding of impulsivity among mat rempit in Malaysia context.
DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n1s1p96
... Turning to studies of car consumption we find that most have tended to adopt the subcultural approach rather than that of the tribal framework. Two cross cultural studies, in particular, have documented the practices of 'Raggare' culture in Sweden (O'Dell, 2001) and the Kortteliralli in Finland (Vaaranen and Wieloch, 2002;Vaaranen, 2004). The latter study revisits the CCCS approach to explain the practices of Finnish street racers as emotion fuelled opposition to their 'bitterly remembered' working class childhood. ...
... These extra motives include the provision of a particular subculture (Tranter and Warn 2008), that can be related to forming an identity and feelings of belonging to a group. Enthusiasts may also derive other satisfaction, such as sensation seeking or showing off in front of friends (Falconer and Kingham 2007;Vaaranen and Wieloch 2002). Car and racing enthusiasts may provide richer information about high risk driving than a population-based sample; indeed, the prevalence of street racing was 1% for a representative sample of Ontario residents (Smart et al. 2011). ...
Objective:
Attitudes and individual difference variables of car and racing enthusiasts regarding high-risk behaviors of street racing and stunt driving have recently been investigated. Positive attitudes toward high-risk driving, personality variables such as driver thrill seeking, and other self-reported risky driving acts were associated with these behaviors. However, probable relationships among high-risk driving tendencies, everyday driving behaviors, and negative road safety outcomes have remained largely unexamined. This study aimed to investigate the associations among car and racing enthusiasts' high-risk driving attitudes, self-reported everyday driving violations (i.e., ordinary and aggressive violations), and self-reported negative outcomes (i.e., collisions and driving offense citations).
Method:
A web-based survey was conducted with members and visitors of car club and racing websites in Ontario, Canada. Data were obtained from 366 participants. The questionnaire included 4 attitude measures-(1) attitudes toward new penalties for Ontario's Street Racers, Stunt and Aggressive Drivers Legislation; (2) attitudes toward new offenses of stunt driving under the same legislation; (3) general attitudes toward street racing and stunt driving; (4) comparison of street racing with other risky driving behaviors-self-reported driving violations (i.e., ordinary and aggressive violations); self-reported collisions and offense citations; and background and driving questions (e.g., age, driving frequency).
Results:
Results revealed that attitudes toward stunt driving offenses negatively and general attitudes toward street racing and stunt driving positively predicted ordinary violations, which, in turn, predicted offense citations. Moreover, general attitudes toward street racing and stunt driving positively predicted aggressive violations, which, in turn, predicted offense citations.
Conclusion:
The findings indicate that positive high-risk driving attitudes may be transferring to driving violations in everyday traffic, which mediates driving offense citations.
... He weaves together an account of driving made pleasurable through different ways of inhabiting the car as a 'machinic complex' (Sheller and Urry 2000). Importantly, Edensor does not deny the polluting and bodily consequences of automobility, rather he draws attention to other aspects of the practice and experience of driving that are often overlooked (for other 'recuperative' accounts of driving, see also Carrabine and Longhurst 2002;Delalex 2003;Laurier 2004;Miller 2001;Raje 2007;Sheller 2004;Vaaranen and Wieloch 2001). ...
Conceptualisations of movement and mobility within geography are increasingly complicating reductive and sedentarist understandings that have tended to theorise mobility either as meaningless, or as the practical outcome of ‘rational’ decision makers. Until quite recently there has been a sedentarist bias in cultural geographic enquiry that has resulted in negative readings of mobility as insensate, polluting and harmful. Conversely, while transport geography has long explored people's daily mobility, it has used a primarily quantitative toolkit to explore the ‘rational’ reasons why movement occurs. The corollary of this has been an assumption that meaning is derived from points A and B, and an emphasis on explaining travel choice by eliciting linguistic accounts of movement. More recent research has begun to problematise such understandings and in doing so illuminate potential avenues of enquiry. Consequently, this review makes an argument for research into cycling to explore the content of the line between A and B in order to highlight the often fleeting and ephemeral meanings that can contribute significantly to what movement means. An essential part of this project is for research to focus on the ‘immaterial’ embodied and sensory aspects of mobility that have previously been neglected or marginalised. In order to realise these goals, this article also makes a case for broadening out the palette of methods used to study mobility and discusses the use of video as one possible way to provide more nuanced accounts of people's journeys.
... Cars provided Teemu with an appropriate working-class masculine identity, which, in this case had not been respectable or responsible, but in the future might be, if he continued working and abiding by the law (cf. Vaaranen and Wieloch, 2002). Even though Teemu did not have a strong sense of local community his identity was very local (see Jamieson, 2000). ...
This article is based on a study of social and spatial transitions of about 20-year-old young people in four different sites in Finland. The data consist of 61 interviews, and in this article four case studies are presented. I analyse young people's social class and family background, as well as the cultural and social capitals (Bourdieu, 1986), which I assume to be mediated through gender and locality (Skeggs, 1998). Also I will inspect Coleman's argument (1988) that social capital and cultural (i.e. human) capital are strongly connected with each other. The data agree with many previous studies and indicate that working-class young people tend to choose similar types of occupation as their parents, many are likely to stay in the local community in future, and social capital is very important while achieving cultural capital and education. However, there are great differences in the ways working-class youth make use of their cultural and social capitals, so we must analyse carefully the emotional, social, local and material conditions of young women and men in order to understand their gendered life histories and educational choices.
This article focuses on girlhood in one of the youth subcultures of rural Sweden, EPA greasers. The EPA, a car that Swedes aged 15 and older can legally drive, is at the centre of EPA culture. In this uniquely and previously male Swedish youth greaser culture, there has been a recent increase in the number of Swedish girls driving EPAs. Previous research has shown how EPA culture and EPA girlhood are shaped through distancing from hegemonic urban and middle-class norms and ideology. In this article, we seek to develop an understanding of EPA culture, specifically the ways in which it has been adopted by girls. Starting out from their online performances, we will explore how place, femininity and resistance intersect. The findings demonstrate how EPA girls use a playful way of troubling norms in their online performances, understood here as space and outlet to resist and mess around with dominant discourses and prejudice. This can also be understood as a way of talking back to masculinity, the majority society and urbanity.
The article demonstrates how development of the car cultures in the city of Yakutsk, northeastern Russia, is facilitated by the proximity of Japan, where street racing and drift driving became popular through such outlets as the manga series, animation films, YouTube, and a blockbuster film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. These influences, which arrived in Siberia from across the Sea of Japan and Hollywood, highlight the shifting geographies and multiple cultural entanglements of the technological advancements in the global space. Through these cultural engagements, young people in the city establish a different perception of the road, endowing it with heterotopic qualities. The article explores the heterotopia of the road in anthropology. Hétérotopie de la route : le drift en Sibérie Résumé Cet article démontre comment le développement des cultures automobiles à Iakoutsk, grande ville du nord‐est de la Russie, est facilité par la proximité du Japon, où les courses de rue et le drift sont devenus populaires à travers les mangas, les films d'animation, YouTube, et une superproduction sur grand écran : Fast & Furious : Tokyo Drift. Ces influences, arrivées en Sibérie par la mer du Japon et Hollywood, mettent en exergue les déplacements géographiques et la multiplicité des enchevêtrements culturels qui entourent les avancées technologiques dans l'espace mondial. À travers ces enchevêtrements culturels, la jeunesse de la ville développe une nouvelle perception de la route, lui conférant des qualités hétérotopiques. L'article se penche sur l'hétérotopie de la route en anthropologie.
The article explores how young people understand the risks of alcohol use and how these understandings are associated with differing drinking situations and social settings. By taking account of situational factors, the aim is to demonstrate how young people have highly nuanced notions of drinking styles that suit different drinking situations and of associated risks. The data for the research were gathered in 18 group interviews with Finnish ninth graders aged 14-15 years. Short film clips portraying young people in different drinking situations were used as stimulus material for the interviews. Data analysis focussed on the risk factors related to the social situations illustrated in the film clips. The results show that young people's risk assessments are not based on alcohol itself, but the magnitude of risk is estimated in relation to the social setting of the drinking situation. What is relevant for young people is whether the social situation allows them to make choices with which they feel comfortable. At the opposite pole of problem drinking was social drinking for the purpose of having fun together with other people in such a way that one remains in control of the drinking situation. From a prevention point of view, a key implication is that awareness of the risks is closely associated with situational and social factors. However, the awareness of those risks does not necessarily prevent young people from drinking because they may be accepted as part of the drinking experience.
© The Author(s) 2014.
The tourism and leisure industries are big business. Opportunities for leisure and tourism have escalated as disposable income, technology, travel and education have become increasingly available in recent times. However, this trend has been juxtaposed with an increase in crime, particularly since the early the 1950s. Acquisitive crimes have been facilitated with the development of more portable and valuable commodities; some activities, such as drink driving and disorder, have now been socially defined as crimes and are more readily identified through new technology such as the increasing use of CCTV. The Problem of Pleasure covers them all. The purpose of this book is to inform and enlighten a range of readers, whose interests may be academic or commercial on possible crime events and modus operandi of criminals. The book has a global perspective, bringing together leading academics from the UK, the US, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand who examine several aspects of leisure that are vulnerable to crime, from illegal hunting to street racing, as well as the impact of crime upon tourists and the tourism industry. This book will be a key text for students of tourism and leisure as well as criminology and sociology; people working in the tourism and recreation industry; policy makers and the police.
Illegal street racing has received increased attention in recent years from road safety professionals and the media as jurisdictions in Australia, Canada, and the United States have implemented laws to address the problem, which primarily involves young male drivers. Although some evidence suggests that the prevalence of illegal street racing is increasing, obtaining accurate estimates of the crash risk of this behavior is difficult because of limitations in official data sources. Although crash risk can be explored by examining the proportion of incidents of street racing that result in crashes, or the proportion of all crashes that involve street racing, this paper reports on the findings of a study that explored the riskiness of involved drivers. The driving histories of 183 male drivers with an illegal street racing conviction in Queensland, Australia, were compared with a random sample of 183 male Queensland drivers with the same age distribution. The offender group was found to have significantly more traffic infringements, license sanctions, and crashes than the comparison group. Drivers in the offender group were more likely than the comparison group to have committed infringements related to street racing, such as speeding, “hooning,” and offenses related to vehicle defects or illegal modifications. Insufficient statistical capacity prevented full exploration of group differences in the type and nature of earlier crashes. It was concluded, however, that street racing offenders generally can be considered risky drivers who warrant attention and whose risky behavior cannot be explained by their youth alone.
Young People, Place and Identity offers a series of rich insights into young people's everyday lives. What places do young people engage with on a daily basis? How do they use these places? How do their identities influence these contexts? By working through common-sense understandings of young people's behaviours and the places they occupy, the author seeks to answer these and other questions. In doing so the book challenges and re-shapes understandings of young people's relationships with different places and identities.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of the deterrent impact of Ontario's street racing and stunt driving legislation which came into effect on September 30, 2007, on collision casualties defined as injuries and fatalities. It was hypothesized that because males, especially young ones, are much more likely to engage in speeding, street racing and stunt driving, the new law would have more impact in reducing speeding-related collision casualties in males when compared to females.
Methods
Interrupted time series analysis with ARIMA modelling was applied to the monthly speeding-related collision casualties in Ontario for the period of January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2010, separately for young male drivers 16–25 years of age (primary intervention group), mature male drivers 26–65 years of age (secondary intervention group), young female drivers 16–25 years of age (primary comparison group) and mature female drivers 26–65 years of age (secondary comparison group). A covariate adjustment using non-speeding casualties was included.
Results
A significant intervention effect was found for young male drivers with, on average, 58 fewer collision casualties per month, but not for mature male drivers, when non-speeding casualties were controlled for. No corresponding effect was observed in either comparison (females) group.
Conclusion
These findings indicate a reduction in speeding-related casualties among young males of 58 fewer casualties per month subsequent to the introduction of Ontario's street racing and stunt driving legislation and suggest the presence of a general deterrent effect.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to conduct a process and outcome evaluation of the deterrent impact of Ontario's street racing and stunt driving legislation, introduced in September 2007, on extreme speeding convictions. It was hypothesized that because males are much more likely to engage in speeding, street racing, and stunt driving, the new law would have more impact in reducing extreme speeding in males compared to females.
Methods:
Descriptive statistics and time series plots were used for the suspensions data. Interrupted time series analysis with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) modeling was applied to the monthly extreme speeding convictions in Ontario for the period of January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2011, to assess the impact of the new legislation, separately for male drivers (intervention group) and female drivers (comparison group).
Results:
The results indicated that per licensed driver, 1.21 percent of 16- to 24-year-old male drivers and 0.37 percent of 25- to 64-year-old male drivers had their licenses suspended between September 2007 and December 2011. This is in contrast to female drivers: 0.21 percent of 16- to 24-year-old female drivers and 0.07 percent of 25- to 64-year-old female drivers had their licenses suspended during the same time period. A significant intervention effect of reduced extreme speeding convictions was found in the male driver group, though no corresponding effect was observed in the female driver group. The findings of this study are consistent with previous research on demographics of street racers and stunt drivers.
Conclusions:
These findings are congruent with deterrence theory that certain, swift, and severe sanctions can deter risky driving behavior and support the hypothesis that legal sanctions can have an impact on the extreme speeding convictions of the intervention group.
This article grapples with the ethical dilemmas of youth research, and more specifically ‘edgework’, via an experiential account of fieldwork with ‘boy racers’ in Aberdeen, Scotland. ‘Edgework’ is ethically problematic for those who wish to conduct fieldwork with youths. By engaging in ‘edgework’, researchers can find themselves unwittingly drawn into the deviant activities of youths, as deviance slowly becomes the norm through prolonged immersion in their social world. ‘Edgework’ also blurs the line between insider and outsider status, threatening the researcher’s ability to step back from the field and critically reflect on their experiences. Furthermore, the experiential aspect of the ‘edgework’ method is called to the fore since the researcher’s experiences of risky behaviours (in terms of discomfort) differed from those of the researched (in terms of pleasure).
Historically, youths have presented challenges to the authorities via their appropriation of the automobile and related inversion of mainstream motoring values. Recently, this has been demonstrated in the contestation concerning boy racers in the UK and their engagement in deviant driving and car modification. Drawing on Elias’ civilizing process and work on technization, this paper demonstrates how various measures targeted the emotive heart of this car-based community, thus attempting to (re)civilize young drivers. Data is presented from ethnographic research with boy racers and societal groups in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Car cruising is a common phenomenon around the globe. In Iceland, the activity
is a major assimilative sociocultural phenomenon for young people and especially for
novice drivers. This article documents car cruising in Iceland and contextualizes it within discussions
of automobility. It is based on semi-structured, ‘on the move’ interviews taken with
people during cruising. Participants were also asked to take pictures of their cruising activities.
It seems that car cruising is an opportunity for young people to integrate themselves into
the systemic regime of automobility. This shows the importance of socialities when it comes
to individual practices and expressions of automobility, but also the structuring role of those
socialities. The paper also elucidates how that activity impacts upon spaces. It demonstrates
that it is intimately connected with human territoriality, or how young drivers appropriate
and influence the spaces and places of automobility and ultimately contribute to their production
and reproduction, thus sustaining the systemic regime of automobility.
On the public roads boy racers are a foreboding presence, viewed with suspicion and derision by the ‘respectable’ motorist. The problem of the young (male) driver is one which has plagued authorities and governments due to youths’ acclaimed propensity to engage in deviant and dangerous driving behaviours.
Boy Racer Culture sheds light on the boy racer phenomenon through ethnographic research with the notorious ‘Bouley Basher’ culture in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, and the moral panic on the part of outside groups including the local community, police, politicians and media. This book examines the creation of masculine and feminine identities in a traditionally male-dominated subculture through car-related rituals such as ‘modding’, subcultural media and events, and the quest for celebrity status via public performances.
Boy Racer Culture challenges common misconceptions surrounding the boy racer, the ‘problematic’ young (male) motorist and the car modifier. It will be essential reading for an international audience including sociologists and criminologists, particularly those with an interest in youth culture, subcultures, moral panics, car culture, anti-social behaviour, and the governance and policing of the roads.
This study examined the prevalence and correlates of street racing among adolescents derived from the 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS), an epidemiological survey of students in Ontario, Canada.
The key response variable, self-reported street racing in past year, was examined in relation to grade level, rural/urban, school marks, cannabis use, drinking and driving, cannabis use and driving, and property, physical, drugs, and weapons delinquencies. All survey estimates were weighted, and variance and statistical tests were corrected for the complex sampling design.
Of the 3053 9th- to 12th-graders (66% response rate), 5.6 percent of high-schoolers (an estimated 42,000 in the province) and (20.4% of grade 11 and 12 students with an advanced-level or full license) reported driving a car, truck, or sport utility vehicle (SUV) in a street race in the 12 months before the survey. Logistic regression analysis of the advanced-level or fully licensed students in grades 11 and 12 found that males compared to females and students in grade 11 compared to students in grade 12 had significantly higher adjusted odds of street racing. Supportive of problem behavior theory, students who reported property and drug delinquencies compared to students not engaging in these delinquencies also had significantly higher adjusted odds of street racing.
This first population-based study in North America suggested that the prevalence of street racing at 1 in 5 of advanced or fully licensed high-schoolers in grades 11 and 12 poses significant public health concerns, especially related to the potential for unintentional injury.
This paper discusses female participation in the male-dominated \'boy racer\' culture. Little is known about girls who join male-dominated subcultures while studies of car cultures have tended to describe girls as peripheral participants and emphasise the link between the car and masculinity. Hence this paper provides an analysis of \'girl racers\'; those drivers who are active participants in the \'racer\' culture through their positioning in the \'driver\'s seat\'. Gender is understood as \'performative\' and Connell\'s notions of \'hegemonic masculinity\' and \'emphasized femininity\' frame the analysis. For the \'girl racers\', \'doing gender\' involved negotiating a complex set of norms while reconciling the competing discourses of the masculine \'racer\' scene and femininity. In order to be viewed as authentic participants, females were required to act like \'one of the boys\' through their style of dress, driving, language and attitudes. They internalised the gender norms of the culture rather than resisting them explicitly, for fear of being excluded from the group. However, the feminine ways in which they modified their cars allowed them to retain an element of femininity within the world of \'boy racers\'. Thus, \'girl racers\' resourcefully negotiated their way through the culture by employing a combination of complex strategies involving compliance, resistance and cooperation with the masculine values of the group. Findings are presented from participant observation, semi-structured and ethnographic interviews with members of the \'racer\' culture in Aberdeen, Scotland, and semi-structured interviews with members of \'outside\' groups.
To review: (1) the extent and frequency of street racing and its consequences; (2) the characteristics of street racers; (3) explanatory theories for street racing; (4) the legal issues; and (5) the best methods of preventing street racing.
Review of academic and other literature.
Very limited official statistics are available on street racing offenses and related collisions, in part because of the different jurisdictional operational definitions of street racing and the ability of police to determine whether street racing was a contributing factor. Some data on prevalence of street racing have been captured through social surveys and they found that between 18.8 and 69.0 percent of young male drivers from various international jurisdictions have reported street racing. Moreover, street racing is found to be associated with other risky behaviors, substance abuse, and delinquent activities. The limited evidence available on street racing suggests that it has increased in the last decade.
Street racing is a neglected research area and the time has come to examine the prevalence and causes of street racing and the effectiveness of various street racing countermeasures.
Delinquency has increased in both quantity and variety. A survey is made of adolescent behavior, treatment, and ritual in various societies and the data is compared with modern American practices. Puberty rites, utilized by many societies as a means of transition for youth to adulthood, are not satisfactorily provided for in modern American culture. A substitute means of satisfying adolescent strivings is the gang. City gangs are discussed and Adler's theory of "masculine protest" is considered a valuable contribution in the understanding of delinquency. Suggestions are made with a view to giving the adolescent more formal recognition and status in society. 7-page references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A dual taxonomy is presented to reconcile 2 incongruous facts about antisocial behavior: (a) It shows impressive continuity over age, but (b) its prevalence changes dramatically over age, increasing almost 10-fold temporarily during adolescence. This article suggests that delinquency conceals 2 distinct categories of individuals, each with a unique natural history and etiology: A small group engages in antisocial behavior of 1 sort or another at every life stage, whereas a larger group is antisocial only during adolescence. According to the theory of life-course-persistent antisocial behavior, children's neuropsychological problems interact cumulatively with their criminogenic environments across development, culminating in a pathological personality. According to the theory of adolescence-limited antisocial behavior, a contemporary maturity gap encourages teens to mimic antisocial behavior in ways that are normative and adjustive.
Car related crimes) Helsinki: Ministry of Internal Affairs, Police Department 01
- Ahti Laitinen
- Leo Nyqvist
- Kari Tuokko
LAITINEN, AHTI, NYQVIST, LEO & TUOKKO, KARI-PEKKA (1998) Ajoneuvorikokset. (Car related crimes). Helsinki: Ministry of Internal Affairs, Police Department 01/1998
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Några nedslag i den svenska motorcycelculturens utveckling under efterkrigstiden' (Some thoughts on development of the post war Swedish motorcycle culture) Ove Sernhede (ed.) Olja, krom och manlig gemenskap (Oil, chrome, and male bonding)
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Kun ratti lähtee käsistä (Loosing the touch of the wheel)
- Heli Vaaranen
VAARANEN, HELI (1998) Kun ratti lähtee käsistä (Loosing the touch of the wheel). Helsinki:
Terveys ry.