Automobility violence: the case for adopting tobacco public health policies

Although tobacco use and road fatalities were recognized as public health issues at roughly the same time, the public health responses have been very different. The accepted wisdom in public health policy is that access to tobacco should be limited, highly taxed, advertising prohibited, visual and textual warnings be mandatory on tobacco products, the obfuscation and lobbying efforts of the tobacco industry publicized. In this paper, we make the case for adopting similar strategies in relation to automobility. As opposed to framing automobility violence as a remediable road safety issue, this paper makes the case for treating automobility violence as an irremediable public health problem. The public health goal with respect to tobacco is not simply to reduce death and disease but to eradicate tobacco use. The public health goal in respect to automobility should be the same. This requires pursuing public health politics oriented towards the dismantling of automobility.