Psychology 409a- November 29, 2005
My Seventh Outline of Assigned Readings
By Jessica Trujillo
Aloha Driving in Hawaii a Good Thing?

Reference 7: Hawaii's courteous driving jamming traffic? www.drivers.com/article/701  

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

Concept 1:  Are Hawaii Drivers too Cautious?

  1. Hawaii's drivers tend to view themselves as cautious, safe, and courteous, but those may be the very qualities that contribute to growing congestion and frustration on the road.
  2. I see this a lot when I drive on the H1.  Drivers are randomly slowing down by on ramps to let other people in, instead of letting them merge naturally.  It is almost as unsafe as aggressive driving.
  3. I chose this topic, because so often we only think that accidents are caused by aggressive drivers, but they can also be caused by the ‘too cautious’ drivers, which is something to be careful of.

 

Concept 2:  Limited view of Courtesy

  1. Drivers are only concerned about the needs of drivers ahead, but not those behind. It's a driver with good intentions but who has perceptual limitations.
  2. This occurs very often, were the driver assumes that they are the only ones on the road, not realizing that they are putting the drivers behind them in danger.  I see this a lot with on ramps on highways
  3. I choose this topic because I had never thought of it before.  I think it is interesting that people forget to look in their rearview mirror.

 

Concept 3:  Culture of the Roadway

  1. A common set of values that the vast majority of drivers and other road users know about, understand, and practice.
  2. Improving road culture is very hard because the laws and rules vary so much, even from city to city.  Someone from the Midwest who is visiting LA may think that they drive crazy, and visa versa. 
  3. I think that it is important to familiarize yourself with the road culture of the city your in so that you can adjust to it appropriately.

 

Links:

1)      www.digihitch.com – Road travel guide

2)      www.drdriving.org/misc/budget.html- tips for driving with aloha

3)      www.the.honoluluadvertiser.com/board/- news article on driving with aloha

Class Homepage: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy23/classhome-g23.htm
My Homepage: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2005/trujillo/home.htm