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Cars Framed As Child-Devouring Deity
- In the 1920s some people compared cars to Moloch because automobiles were killing thousands of children annually.
- That metaphor captured public horror and framed cars as a destructive social force.
Streets Were Shared Social Spaces
- Before mass cars, streets functioned like shared public spaces where people and children freely strolled and played.
- Early city life assumed informal social rules rather than strict traffic regulation for street use.
Urbanization Plus Model T Raised Deadly Risk
- By the 1920s mass-produced Model T cars and urbanization sharply increased street traffic and fatalities.
- Around 17–18,000 people died yearly from motor vehicles, mostly pedestrians and many children.