The Subject in Peril

Abstract

What follows is an introduction to my forthcoming doctoral research regarding the portrayal of the subject and object of fear in road safety public education campaigns. The objective of this particular paper is to situate my doctoral research into current fear of crime theory. The paper aims to examine fear of crime beyond the heuristics of victimhood and asserts that the fearful subject’s perceived consequences of crime are also a significant consideration for the feared subject and their governance and regulation. The paper argues that the fear of crime features in road safety public education campaigns as a technology to discipline an unpredictable subject. The paper raises some significant questions relating to the exercise of this disciplinary power, which will form the basis of my doctoral research.