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Friday Video: How Violent Media Makes Road Violence Worse

From video games to movies to social media trends, the glamorization of road violence is everywhere — and a new documentary seeks to expose how that translates to real lives lost.
Friday Video: How Violent Media Makes Road Violence Worse
Graphic: Still from "Power Trip."

Reckless driving is all over American roads — but it’s even more common in our car commercials, video games, action movies, and social media feeds, often with none of the tragic consequences that happen in real life. But how much of our roadway death crisis can be blamed on our media culture, and how can we stop motorists from mimicking what they see on so many of their screens?

That’s the question at the heart of a fascinating new documentary, “Power Trip” from investigative reporter Myron Levin, featuring hard-hitting interviews with experts, advocates, traffic victims and their survivors — many of whom will be familiar faces to Streetsblog readers. We don’t usually feature full-length films for Friday video, but we encourage you to take a longer break today and watch this one.

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