Psy 409a, October 30, 2006
Rural versus Urban Driving
by Gina Kim
Instructions for
this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/g25-oral1.htm
Instructor: Dr.
Leon James
Peter Rothe, Editor (2002). Driving
Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer. (
A. Five assumptions that support thought that rural and urban driving differs.
1. The word “rural” draws a picture of a small group of people involved with farming, mining, fishing, etc while “urban” denotes large cities.
2. Driving and traffic is affected by and in a sense created by people’s cultures and values.
3. Emotion and personality is affected and played out with family and peers. This transfers over to driving personalities.
4. Data from interviews show events that drivers choose to describe their lives and truths.
5. Research shows that there is a need for effective rural-based intervention programs.
B. Differences between rural and urban drivers
1. Home Life
a. Urban drivers thought of home life as a “temporary permanence” or a refuge, but mostly a place of chaos.
b. Rural drivers thought of home life as a happy place that they go for refuge.
2. Work
a. Urban drivers have negative feelings towards work. It is not enjoyable.
b. Rural drivers don’t really view work as a separate evil but as one with their family. They enjoy their work because it is what they do.
3. Risk
a. It is considered more dangerous in urban areas so drivers are more cautious there.
b. Drivers feel safer and tend to not worry about locking their doors in rural areas.
4. Rural drivers tend to believe more in fate and divine intervention than urban drivers.
5. Urban drivers wear seat belts more often.
6. Rural drivers tend to have a more easy going temperament when driving.
LINKS
1. Rural Driving Hazards : http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2000/ruraldriving.html
- This article goes over the fact that driving in rural areas can be more
dangerous. There are more accidents in
rural areas and this article helps clarify why this is so. It also gives
helpful tips on how to be more careful in rural areas.
2. Statistics on Rural Driving http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:UnxgNQVyAXYJ:safety.fhwa.dot.gov/speed_manage/docs/speeding_rural.pdf+rural+versus+urban+driving&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=7&client=firefox-a
– This website did a good job of giving straight statistics about the type of
driving and accidents that occur in rural areas. It gives you a good idea of why there are
driving differences in rural and urban areas. It also helps by giving good tips on how to
avoid accidents in rural areas.
3. Teen Driving : http://www.teendriving.com/index.html - This website was specifically made for teens that
are learning or already know how to drive. It is very easy to maneuver around this
website. The left side has a list of different driving situations and each link
gives tips or facts about driving. It
even has a link for driving in the country and driving in town. There is a clear distinction between the two
areas and the styles of driving in each.
My Home page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409af2006/kim/kim-home.htm
Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm