Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2009, Page 69

DREYMAR UM BILAR Á OYCCJUM
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life on tiring evenings. While driving around,
they listen to music, chat on the telephone,
write text messages and keep an eye on the
movements in the environment. They are in
fact quite busy.
It is a delicate job to try to illustrate the
relationship between personality, cultural
identity and lifestyle on the one hand, and
trafhc behaviour on the other. The sociologi-
cal theory on drivers in danger is not easily
uncovered. The wild child may drive in an
exemplary manner while the quiet well-
mannered boy may turn into a crazy speed
hog when driving. What is well documented
scientifically is that strong emotions, anger,
trauma and depression can influence driving
abilities negatively (Mogensen, 2002). Fatal
misjudgements in traffic may start with a
tage from the early morning. The driver may
act like a person under the influence of alco-
hol even if he has not consumed any alcohol
or drug. Young men can be relatively unsafe
drivers because of lack of experience, but
they can also be very trustworthy because
their senses function well and they think and
respond impressively fast.
On the endless road
Motoring has greatly influenced contempo-
tary youth cultures around the globe. The
car symbolizes a sweet freedom to move
away from geographical, social and kinship
limitations in everyday life. The car realizes
some of the dreams of boys and girls, feeling
locked up and under parental surveillance in
urban and village communities (Wollen and
Kerr, 2002). A resolute driver, never getting
tired of circular car rides with his pals, was
the rock star Elvis Presley. His juvenile
Memphis rides have no doubt directed
many acclaimed rock hits.
"Throughout his life, his [Elvis'] favourite
nontoxic form of recreation was racing
through the streets of Memphis with his
buddies in the wee hours of the morning
and unlike most celebrities, he scoffed at
the idea of chauffeurs. Driving was simply
too important" (Wollen and Kerr, 2002)
Many grown-ups are nostalgically longing
back to youthful years with joyful night rides
without any terminus. The car evokes the
memory of past pleasures together with
friends and curious strangers. The filmmaker
George Lucas says about the American
Grafliti (1973).
"That was my life. I spent four years
driving around the main street ofModesto,
chasing girls. It was the mating ritual ofmy
times, before it disappeared and every-
body got into psychedelia and drugs" (in
Wollen and Kerr, 2002)
Modern man is homeless, or rather, he has a
homeless mind, says Berger (Berger et al.
1974). The car is a good instrument in the
search in vain for the imagined home, but it
is also somehow a home in itself. The car, in
a modern perspective, furnishes a vacuum in
existence. The car hence signifies a shelter in
a floating incomprehensible world. The Beat
generation novelist Jack Kerouac’s On the
Road (1957), describing his impulsive trip
through bleak USA together with friends, has
influenced generations of American youths.
In the novel the car is the poor man's
property, not the aflfluent American's luxury.