Search results

Responding to the increased visibility of populist demagogues in the critical and cultural discourses of contemporary Western society, recent activity within the academy has sought to clarify, develop and (re)define populism as a phenomenon. Via analyses of Aliens (Cameron, 1986), The Running Man (Glaser, 1987) and Robocop (Verhoeven, 1987), this chapter draws upon these conceptualisations to revisit a sample of action heroes from the eighties action cinema. Exploring the intersection of these gendered identities with the aesthetics of ideational populism, the chapter demonstrates how such texts have helped shape the nature of the action cinema genre from the outset. In doing so, the chapter considers (1) how these narratives construct a duality of homogenous antagonistic groups, organised around a virtuous people and corrupt self-serving elite, thereby mirroring the fundamental conditions of populism, (2) how the super-objectives guiding the principles and actions of characters operate as gendered and thin-centred ideologies which fail to offer meaningful solutions to the wider socio-political issues encountered, and (3) how Richards, Ripley and Robocop are positioned as self-appointed demagogues, who pursue personal, rather than common, solutions and often operate without conventional societal constraints.

Purpose: This chapter synthesises a variety of findings on the topic of aggressive driving and delivers a suite of strategies for moderating such behaviours. Examples and formal definitions of aggressive driving acts are given, along with specific techniques for reducing excessive speed and other aggressive behaviours.

Methodology: Key references from the literature are summarised and discussed, and two examples detailing how multi-parameter distributions and models compare with the negative binomial distribution and model are presented.

Findings: Speeding is the most common type of aggressive driving, and speeding-related crashes represent a high share of traffic deaths. Speeding relates to many factors, including public attitudes, personal behaviours, vehicle performance capabilities, roadway design attributes, laws and policies. Anonymity, while encased in a vehicle, and driver frustration, due to roadway congestion or other issues, contribute to aggressive driving.

Research implications: More observational data are needed to quantify the effects of the contributing factors on aggressive driving.

Practical implications: Driver frustration, intoxication and stress can lead to serious crashes and other traffic problems. They can be addressed, to some extent, through practical enforcement, design decisions and education campaigns.

Purpose – Urban and suburban arterials carry a large share of urban traffic and contend with a relatively large proportion of transport network crashes. Road crashes and their consequent societal costs diminish the sustainability of transportation systems, highlighting the need to identify road safety problems and their corresponding solutions. This chapter briefly outlines problems and solutions associated with crash risk on urban and suburban arterials. In addition, this chapter studies and discusses several safety countermeasures – ranging from local treatments to integral frameworks – and their effectiveness on improving traffic safety of urban and suburban arterials.

Approach – Crash occurrence on urban and suburban arterials is affected by numerous contributing factors. This chapter pays attention primarily to the effects of traffic characteristics and road design features. In this regard, several pertinent variables which have been extensively examined in the literature are reviewed and their contributions to the safety of urban and suburban arterials are discussed.

Findings – A review of the literature identifies a number of variables as influential factors of crashes on urban and suburban arterials. Although the associations of some variables (e.g., traffic volume) are consistent with expectations, others (e.g., lane width and speed) show mixed and sometimes counterintuitive results. These findings signify that additional research is needed to reveal the correct functional form and magnitude of these relationships.

Practical implications – The results show that while the general direction and magnitude of effects of some engineering and management-related treatments are known, additional research is needed to consolidate the impact and effectiveness of integrated approaches.