We Need a Dose of Mass Psychotherapy

New StatesmanJuly 30, 2009

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Summary


When has common sense ever had much to do with motor cars? As organisations such as RoadPeace and Brake point out, the annual carnage on our roads can be predicted with such monotonous accuracy that it does not justify the designation "accident". It is a logic similar to that used to explain civilian casualties in Iraq - if they are "unavoidable", how can they be "unintentional"? If we really set our minds to it, we could probably cut accidents to zero.

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We Need a Dose of Mass Psychotherapy

Admirers of the comic writer A P Herbert may recall the case of Haddock v Thwale - subtitled What is a Motor Car? - in which Herbert's ever-inventive lay litigant, Albert Haddock, takes a motorist to court for knocking him down. Haddock loses initially on the grounds that he and the motorist are equally negligent, but argues on appeal that a far higher standard of care is required of the motorist "by reason of his having brought upon the public roads a lethal instrument of great mobility and power". If someone keeps a wild beast ...

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