Psychology 409A – Monday, November 7, 2005
Outline #5

By:  Tiffanie Jinbo
Elderly Independence

 

Reference:  James, Dr. Leon and Nahl, Dr. Diane.  “Road Rage and Aggressive Driving:  Steering Clear of Highway Warfare.”  Prometheus Books:  New York.  2000. 202-213.

Instructions for this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/409a-g23-oral.htm 
Instructor: Dr. Leon James

1.     Older Drivers at Risk

a.     Due to the aging process, elderly drivers become more at risk. They are often unable to keep up with the fast pace of our growing society, which often leaves them behind.  They want to be able to keep their independence, and the question is whether or not we want to take that away.

b.     A while ago, there were multiple incidents where elderly drivers have made the mistake of crashing into businesses or running them over.  Ever since the article were printed in the newspapers and media, my grandparents developed a fear of driving.  No longer do they drive at night and are often escorted around. 

c.      In my opinion, a couple incidents of negligent driving of the elderly does not represent the elderly as a whole.  If you take away any driving privileges, at what age would be appropriate.  It is often how old you feel rather than how old you are, and that is the recently debated issue.   

2.     Young vs Old

a.     In comparison it is the “young driver” who shows aggressive behavior over the older drivers.  And it is due to the elderly stereotypes that cause younger drivers to run the older drivers off the road.    

b.     The younger generation of drivers needs to respect the older generation of drivers.  The elderly often feel like they are being pushed around, so many of them drive on roads only mid-day when they know that the students are in school and everyone else is at work. 

c.      Just the other day, I was beginning to get upset at a car rolling down the hill I live on at half the speed limit.  I caught myself before I got upset and took a deep breath and before I knew it we were heading in different directions.      

3.     Positive Driving Behavior

a.     Is a checklist that relates to becoming the supportive driver.  Positive driving behavior includes putting on the turn signal in consideration for others, practicing positive thought when sitting in traffic, being willing to figure things out ahead of time and leaving ahead of time.  These are all things that we can adopt in the process of becoming a supportive driver. 

b.     Having lived in town, traffic was not much of an issue for me, in fact I enjoyed sitting in traffic until gas prices were raised.  I adopted putting on the turn signal in consideration for others specifically because I have been lazy about putting it on.  I also did not realize that it was against the law not to signal, so I changed my ways. 

c.      Assessing positive driving behavior is difficult because it can be done in a variety of ways.  I do not believe that positive driving behavior only includes the fourteen listed items.  Learning behavior over time is a positive solution as a first step out of oppositional driving.    

 

My Home Page:  http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2005/jinbo/home.htm

 

The G23 Class Home Page:  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/classhome-g23.htm

 

Related Web Links: 

  1. http://www.helpguide.org/life/senior_citizen_driving.htm  - Safe Senior Citizen Driving
  2. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=23071  - To Drive or not to Drive?
  3. http://www.la4seniors.com/driving.htm   - Dangerous Driving and Seniors