Instructions for this activity are found at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral1.htm

Instructor: Dr. Leon James

Citation: Peter Rothe, editor (2002). Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer. (Edmonton: University Of Alberta Press). Reviewing pgs. 65-76

I. Tragic Car Accident

1. A recollection of the senior author-remember certain events: weather, how the roads looked, he was with his 2-year-old can’t remember what his wife or other child were doing. Saw a sedan speeding, changing lanes, hydroplaning, the look of the face of the other driver in a Honda as the sedan hits it head on. Stopping to help, finding the young woman 22 years old dead in the Honda, the sedan with 4 teens skipping school about to have a good time.

2. Must recognize that a particular event is more than a tragic accident. Outcome of a complex set of situations that is due to the act of operating an automobile with the meanings of everyday life. Approach to understand traffic and related safety issues as cybernetics. Goal is to deconstruct the cybernetics of intimate social life and safety.

3. I just wanted to share this story because when I read it I remembered why it is so important to drive safely and to remember that the decisions we make may lead to a huge consequence. Meaning if the teens of the sedans didn’t skip school or if the driver was driving slower and more careful would this tragedy have taken place? I also found it interesting to find out the true meaning of cybernetics because I heard that word before.

II. Principle Components of the System

1. Intimate Social Life

A. How we operate a car, with whom and under what circumstances.

B. For the teens involved in that crash their intimate social life-who they thought they were and what they thought they were doing-was deconstructed by the crash they were responsible for.

C. The crash can be seen as the alienation that results from mixing the intimate social forms of interaction with the formal rules of operating the car.

D. This principle is important because it is often overlooked as a cause of accidents.

2. Mixed Social Form

A. When we have friends in the car we combine the world of intimacy with the routine of operating the car.

B. Mixing the rules of driving with the rules for being young can be dangerous. (especially with increased technology-cruise control, complicated music systems-makes the driver pay less attention to driving and more to the passengers and having fun)

C. The mature driver does not mix the formal and informal forms of social life. Follows a routine of driving instead. The young driver like the teen and his friends went outside their formal form (staying in school).

III. Findings of a Survey

1. Youthful drivers are at risk for crashes, their perspective on driving reflects their competencies and degree of involvement in peer social life.

2. Results support the hypothesis that youthful drivers tend to be more preoccupied with social activities and impressing their peer passengers than the formal activities of navigating to a desired designation in a safe manner.

3. Youthful drivers are less likely to require their passengers to wear seat belts, more likely to use cell phones, drive all over town as opposed to standard routes, oppose a ban on “cruising”, and oppose road blocks to check for intoxicated drivers.

4. Young drivers are more likely to engage in multiple kinds of social interactions while driving which diverts them from following the rules for safe operation of a car.

5. The accident shows the conflict between the requirements of friendship and “taking off” and safe driving. Question: Was the accident due to the young driver’s inexperience in judging safe passing conditions or is it due to his effort to impress his friends with his daring defiance of the road rules?

IV. Three Links

1. http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/car_accident_photo.html

This link takes you to real life stories and pictures of car accidents submitted by people. I think it was very real and interesting.

2. http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/yngdrive.htm

This site is a very good read for both adults and teens. It lists the risks associated with being a young driver. By knowing them you are more likely to be aware of the problems and be more conscious of the way you are driving.

3. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl28.htm

This link lists all of the possible and most popular distractions for people while they are driving. I think if you read this you will try to stop bad habits and not form new ones. For example, it talks about the use of a cell phone while driving. I think more people need to understand that their actions may cause an accident.

My Homepage: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/alcover/alcover-home.htm

Class Homepage: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm