You can’t…mix up the system!”: An Exploration of Canadian Politeness and Deviant Drivers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

• In Event: 1444 - Emerging Topics in Deviance and Social Control

Abstract

This paper adopts Collins’ (2004, 2008) theory of interaction rituals to explore how drivers make sense of norm violations in their everyday commutes in the Greater Toronto Area. By drawing on in-depth interviews with adult drivers, I demonstrate how commonplace artifacts such as traffic lights, turn signals and courtesy (“thank you”) waves are imbued with morality and how notions of group membership can help explain why some drivers might engage in micro-vigilantism as a way to punish those who violate driving norms. I suggest that a closer look at the driving microcosm reveals the pervasiveness of the “polite Canadian” stereotype and the extent to which this fable is used to establish symbolic boundaries that reinforce an “us versus them” mentality.

Author

• Yvonne Daoleuxay, University of Toronto