Leave
me a noteWhen I first signed up for this Psychology 459 class I had a brief understanding that it would entail doing searches on the World Wide Web. Being somewhat computer illiterate (my idea of owning a computer is a Sega Genesis) I was curious about the information that was out there. I learned the term "surfing the Internet" after the first week of class and found that with the click of a button on a "link" I could travel almost anywhere.
After a few weeks of "surfing" I found that there are so many people traveling throughout the World Wide Web that it cannot accommodate all those people at one time (especially on the College of Social Sciences server) therefore I concluded that the purpose of "traffic psychology " on the Internet was about the amount of traffic on the "information super-highway." However, I was wrong to assume that it had anything to do with the "traffic" of being on the "Net" because the purpose of the class was in fact to get a better understanding of why people act the way they do in traffic situations.
The National Speed Limit: Why 55?
In Report 1, I spoke of my opinions about speeding in relation to the information I found from the Generation 1 files. I continued my searches on speeding through a NetSearch and found that the biggest concern at this time is the repealing of the National Speed Limit.
In 1973 Congress passed the bill which would make all freeways and interstate highways a mandatory 55mph zone. The bill was passed due to the oil crisis and shortage of petroleum products into the US It was to be a short-termed law until the oil crisis was over at which time the speed limits would be raised again to 65mph.
According to the National Motorist Association there was a total of 54,052 deaths reported on the roadways across America in 1973. That number dropped to 45,196 deaths in 1974, a substantial decline in one year due to the decreased speed limit.
Further data from the National Motorist Association found that the economic cost to society of speed-related crashes is $24 billion a year including health care costs of $2 billion annually.
From the statistics gathered by the NMA, it is a strong defender against the push for repealing the National Speed Limit. I find it difficult to believe that U.S. Congress and the President of the United States is prepared to put into law a National Speed Limit which will most definitely increase the number of deaths on the roadways.
If you look at how much of an impact this will play across the Nation's roadways, statistics from the NMA show that speed limits would increase anywhere between 15-20 mph jump in the speed limit should it be repealed. On a more frightening note, under the state of Montana, there would be no set speed limit. An Autobahn in America?
Though all the statistics show how important our current speed limit is in terms of saving lives, some opinions vary when it comes to the importance of obeying the speed limit no matter what it is.
In one person's view "if you drive 100% legally, you statistically increase your chances of getting in or causing an accident." I disagree with this statement because you cannot account for any other person's actions but your own. In terms of traffic psychology, this state of mind would be taking a step backwards because you would be following in the footsteps of all others around you. "Go fast because everyone else is" or to keep pace. This becomes a dangerous predicament because then the person is no longer in control of his automobile, his feelings, his destiny or the destiny of his passengers and surrounding drivers. I feel that this puts too much of a burden on any person to conform to the unlawful and morally wrong norms that are taught to us on the roadways every time we choose to speed or tailgate. Click here if you want to see various opinions on what may or may not happen should the speed limit be repealed by Congress.
The Tailgating Phenomena
In the pursuits of speeding, one doesn't always have open roads ahead to do so. Therefore, one will "push" his way by the phenomena known as "tailgating." The reasoning behind this theory is that by speeding up close behind the car in front will result in a "pushing effect" in the sense that the driver in front will acknowledge the fact that you wish to go faster and are "demanding" that they comply with your wishes or get out of the way.
Some people may view tailgating as a way to get people to do as they want they to do, speed up or move. On the other hand some people tailgate for the pleasure of doing so. In one sense "people intentionally close a large gap when someone in the next lane signals intent to change into the lane." This is a disturbing thought because you are not tailing at any other time except when the "threat" arises that someone wants to cut in front of you. This by far is more selfish than the actual act of tailgating because you are forcing yourself to do something bad just because someone else wants to get ahead of you so that they can get to their destination.
Another view on tailgating which I found while doing an Internet search on it was that some people feel that "police should spend more time on tailgaters and less time on speeders." This would be a good start on preventive measures in terms of accidents and fender-benders, however, it should also be noted that more than likely, the speeders are the ones who are in fact tailgating. From a legal view, how do you measure or put an adequate distance on what is or is not tailgating. Furthermore, it seems to be impossible to enforce something like a tailgating law because it is not an easy thing to prove. In less than a second you can slow down enough to not be tailgating whereas with radar detectors, police can check your speed before you even see them. No matter how you look at it, the bottom line is that people have to have respect for the power that they hold while engaging in the art of driving. A sense of responsibility for individual as well as community actions must be met while on the roadways. At an individual standpoint, respect for those around you as you drive. On a community standpoint, follow to the best of your ability all that is going on with the cars around you at the time you are driving and make the connection with the other cars and drivers. Allow yourself to feel the "flow" of the traffic, cars and drivers around you and by doing so, surrounding yourself in a nonhostile atmosphere which results in clearer and better judgments.
I found a section on tail-gating when I was searching through Joleen Lai's lab report on speeding. In it she talked about noticing that tail-gaters usually wore sunglasses or big shades to conceal their identities. I don't really think that they are trying to conceal their identities as much as perhaps trying to block out the sun. In anycase, a tail-gater will most likely tail-gate regardless of it being day or night, calling it a "habit by nature." As far as a legal definition for tail-gating, one might consider the following which was also written by Lai; "According to the Hawaii Drivers Manual, when stopped at a stop sign or light, you must be able to see the bottom of the person's rear tires over the hood of your own car." In other words being any closer and you would be "TAIL-GATING!" I can appreciate this tip of advice when your car is going nearly "0" miles per hour, but how do you compensate for the fact when your driving at 60mph on the freeway and can tell the color of the driver's eyes in front because you can see them through the rear-view mirror looking back at you. In other words "YOU'RE TOO CLOSE!"
People tail-gate for many reasons. Mostly I think that it is an uncons$ act which is partly due to keeping up with the flow of traffic. Nobody wants to be a straggler on the freeway because everyone would have to cut around them.
Types of Drivers in Traffic
No matter how old you are, how well you think you drive or the number of accidents you have or have not been in, every driver seems to fit in at least one of four categories based on how they drive in traffic. The slowpokes, casual speed limit obeyers, fast drivers and finally the speed demons.
The slowpokes are by far the worst to encounter. They not only may impede your driving experience by their slow disposition, they are the ones who cannot change to meet up with the expectations of those drivers around them who expect them to flow with the traffic. Besides traveling below the speed limit, they follow every limit as if inscribed on a stone tablet by the hand of God.
With traffic psychology in mind, these people ought to respect the fact that they are doing a greater disservice to those around them when they decide to drive so slowly because it angers people to the point where they try and take risks that they might otherwise not even consider had the person in front of them been going the speed limit or faster. As much as they have a right to drive at that type of speed, slowpokes must ask themselves whether or not they feel comfortable driving with the flow of the traffic, and if the answer is no, then they must consider what types of reactions occur on the roadways because of their actions.
The next type of driver would be the slow drivers who occasionally drive a little below or above the speed limit. They are better than the slowpokes because they are not excessively slow or fast. However they stand apart from the typical driver because they don't always comply with the flow of traffic. For example if everyone is traveling roughly around 65-70mph on the freeway, they may be traveling at 55-60mph. Not a whole lot of difference, however, a considerable amount when you add up the amount of cars that are cutting out of the lane and speeding on up ahead.
Next there are the fast drivers which typically drive above the speed limits posted. The smoothest possible flow seems to be met when the fast drivers are around you in traffic. This is probably due to the fact that because most people drive this way, you can more than likely expect them to be around you when the traffic is flowing. This is not to say that only in extreme cases would you find a slowpoke in front of you, rather it is more likely to find another fast driver like yourself flowing through traffic.
Finally we come to the most difficult drivers to handle: tailgaters and speed demons. These are the drivers who are just plain stupid and take every risk to avoid any kind of traffic situation. They have no respect for the other cars around them and only think about themselves. I feel that they hold the same kind of rank as the slowpokes because they are selfish in their actions.
With regards to becoming more aware as a driver, I hate to admit it when I say that the fast drivers are typically the ones who will allow for the smoothest flow in traffic. However, the truth of the matter is that because so many of us fall into this category as a driver, the driving experience becomes a little more clearer when all of those around you are thinking like you as well. Thus making the whole experience a little more enjoyable than otherwise might be.
Through my own self-observations, I have noticed that if my mood is of a bad nature (wake up on the wrong side of the bed) I not only tend to drive more aggressively, but by doing so, all of the other areas of discussion find their way into the driving picture. Speeding because I'm angry, changing lanes because everyone ahead of me are going as fast as turtles,or tailgating someone just to get them a little fed up so they can feel just as crappie as I do. Heavy traffic is the worst place to be when feeling aggressive because of the confined spaces allowed to you (like the lion that wants to get out of its cage and roam free). The initial fact that I started out of the house on the wrong note has now blown my driving experience way out of proportion and I have now created all of these problems for myself and others on the road.
Negative Behaviors in Traffic
Although I didn't find anything on the Internet under "traffic persona," I did find a description of a negative driving persona in Jae Isa's report under the sub-heading "Description of Generational Paper 2." In it, Isa spoke of a narrator who described himself as one always being on the go, impatient and uptight. He called his actions "unnoble acts" and listed speeding, tailgating and aggressive lane switching as a few of those acts. He refused to allowing cars into his lane because "he felt he was being taken advantage of and, somehow, damaging his ego and self pride. However, the one that surprised me the most was when he talked of "nudging" his way into crosswalks because he wanted pedestrians to hurry up, and it they didn't would yell and curse at them to do so. It is one thing to go and yell at somebody driving on the road, but to yell at people walking across the street, in a crosswalk, to make them hurry because he is in a rush is an infringement on their rights as people. Who does he think he is? I can't say (fortunately) that I have ever committed this act no matter how bad a mood I was in. Even though I am guilty of every other "unnoble act" mentioned, I have never felt it necessary to nudge my way into the crosswalk and yell at the pedestrians because they are walking. If that were the case, why doesn't he just bang them all because at least then, he doesn't have to waste his breath yelling. On a positive note, the ending of Isa's report reveals that this driver has made improvements on his negative driving persona and now waves and smiles at pedestrians while waiting for them to cross as a stress reduction exercise of some sort.
Resolving the Conflicts within Ourselves
It is easy to get in the car and drive to our destinations day in and out. However no one ever thinks about how many thousands of decisions we have to make through the entire ordeal (a thousand may be exaggerating depending on the distance of course). If anyone became aware of these decisions as they were being made, it might become clear just how ignorant we (as drivers) are to others on the road as well as in life. The purpose of a traffic psychology class is not only to become aware of what kinds of things we do when we are in traffic, but how we as people can better ourselves. Through the process of studying ourselves in stressful situations (such as traffic) it may become clear just how we may be able to achieve a higher purpose in our own lives by serving others better. In doing so, everyones' worth becomes as important as your own and you become a more compassionate person. It is a difficult task to try and be a compassionate person when others make bad judgement errors that in turn affect you, but you have to accept it. And in accepting people and the situations resulting from their actions (rather than turning towards anger) do we find a sense of peace within ourselves. Although it may sound like I am preaching, let me end this final paper (I hope) of my college career by saying this about life;