Killer Cars Essay

697 Words3 Pages
The opinion article ‘killer cars- An assault on reason’ written by Melanie Masters, presents the issue of reckless and irresponsible driving from owners of 4WDs. Master identifies 4WDs as ‘death machines’ as it compromises the safety of other drivers, due to the number of deaths that have occurred. She attempts to create a sense of anger and fear in the audience by using a concerned and aggressive tone on the issue. Master raises this issue to all motorists and safety officials of 4WDs in attempt to make others aware that these cars are unsafe and indeed ‘Killer Cars. Master criticises and attacks 4WD’s and the owners themselves, in attempt to position the audience to feel as though the people who drive them are only thinking about their own safety and disregarding other driver’s. ‘It’s only their own safety they’re worried about.’ She intentionally uses a series of attacking words at the beginning of the article to convey that 4WDs are the ‘monsters of the road’ and are highly hazardous. The words ‘Killer cars’ and ‘Death Machines’ implies that it’s not only the owners who are responsible for deaths, but also the cars themselves. This is followed by a research report from MUARC which found that ‘4WDs are the most aggressive vehicle type, killing or seriously injuring an average 5.89 unprotected road uses or drivers per 100 crashes.’ This makes the audience feel insecure and scarse that they could possibly contribute to those statistics and be the next victim of this ‘Killer car’. Master repeatedly faults 4WD owners for causing havoc on the road, and furthers to create a sense of concern and worry in the audience, especially parents by sharing a case study of a 5 year old child who was killed in the driveway of her school by a mother who was a 4WD owner. This creates a horrible feeling of unsafety, positioning them to question how safe 4WDs are around their
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