Introduction: Global Perspectives on Road Safety History

This special issue of Technology and Culture explores the ways in which road use and road safety have changed since the 1880s, including how different road users interacted with each other, technology, regulation, engineering, design, and the built environment. Together the articles provide a look at a variety of approaches across North America, Europe, and Africa and at different road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. While most of the papers individually consider a single national example, the picture that is built up across the issue allows comparisons between countries to demonstrate how road safety and automobility technologies are historically and culturally contingent. The issue concludes with a commentary from a prominent policymaker in the hope that better understanding of how accidents, safety, and risks are co-constructed and co-produced can offer insights into how we might reduce deaths and injuries in the future.