Life — February 1, 1917 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical illustration depicts a surreal, nightmarish vision experienced by a motorist who has successfully evaded a traffic police officer. The image shows a chaotic scene where motorcycles and cyclists swarm around an architectural interior—appearing to pursue or torment the driver in a dreamlike sequence. The satire targets early automotive culture and traffic enforcement tensions. The motorist's "nightmare" humorously inverts the power dynamic: having escaped a cop, the driver imagines being hunted by an overwhelming swarm of two-wheeled vehicles. This likely satirizes anxieties about traffic law enforcement, reckless driving, and the growing dangers of motor vehicles in early 20th-century urban streets. The exaggerated, surreal visual style amplifies the absurdity of the scenario.