(Re)civilizing the Young Driver: Technization and Emotive Automobility

ABSTRACT

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.

Keywords:

• Automobility
• Car culture
• Boy racers
• (De)civilizing process
• Technization
• Youths

Notes

1. It is not possible within the context of this discussion to do justice to the myriad social scientific analyses which have focused on automobility and mobility more generally. Social historians have long focused on the automobile as an object of curiosity and scrutiny (see Flink 1970, 1975; Rae 1971; Ling 1990; O’Connell 1998; Foster 2003). Moreover, French social theorists, such as Lefebvre, Barthes, de Certeau and Baudrillard can be viewed as foundational figures in the study of automobility (Inglis 2004).

2. Pseudonyms have been used in order to protect participants’ identities.

3. Within the culture, cars were referred to as ‘souped’ or ‘souped-up’, which means they have been modified for higher performance.

4. The A90 is a major north to south road in eastern Scotland running from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh.

5. Halfords (founded in 1892 as a cycle shop) is Britain’s leading retailer of automotive and cycling products. Its Autocentres provide car service, repair and MOTs to fleet and retail customers across Britain. In 2012 Halfords operated 467 stores across Britain.

6. Before they can dispose of a vehicle, the Retaining Authority must have been unable to deliver a seizure notice, or if it was delivered, the owner must have failed to remove the vehicle.

7. In Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is responsible for the prosecution of crime, the investigation of sudden and suspicious deaths, and the investigation of complaints against the police. The Procurator Fiscal has the discretion not to prosecute and to pursue alternatives, but ultimately remains under the directions of the Crown Office and Lord Advocate.

8. The ‘trammers’ are an area at Aberdeen’s seafront where remnants of the city’s old tramlines remain. Drivers use this space in the evenings to park their cars and socialize with one another.