Outline of My Ninth Required Weekly Outline (Not Oral)

Supportive Driving

This is a presentation of Road Rage and Aggressive Driving

Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl; Published by Prometheus Books, 2000, pg. 167-177

By: Julia Mae Geraghty

 

Instructions for this oral presentation are found at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/g22-oral.htm

 

I.                    Communicating Motorist to Motorist

a.       Motorists need to constantly be aware of each other as well as communicate with each other to create a safe and pleasant roadway.

b.      Examples of motorist signals

                                                               i.      Apology – hand wave

                                                             ii.      Slow down, danger ahead – flashing head lights

c.       Opinion

                                                               i.      I think that communication with other drivers is very important. Especially the shaka here in Hawaii!

II.                 How to learn how to supportively drive

a.       Do on to others as you would want done on to you… Instead of trying to compete with other drivers on the road, try to see what they want from you and if possible attempt to give them what they need.

b.      Example

                                                               i.      If caught in a bad situation realize that the other driver may just be having a bad day, and driving brings out the demon in people!

c.       Opinion

                                                               i.      I think it is very important to try to realize that it is not necessarily person’s goal in life to make other’s angry when on the road. Driving is a very stressful task and it sometimes causes people to do things they would not normally do.

III.               Using positive and supportive acts

a.       Three philosophies that determine how people drive

                                                               i.      Level One – Oppositional

                                                             ii.      Level Two – Defensive

                                                            iii.      Level Three – Supportive

b.      Example

                                                               i.      Level one – “Don’t mess with me.”

                                                             ii.      Level two- “They’re just no good.”

                                                            iii.      Level three – “Everybody makes mistakes sometimes.”

c.       Opinion

                                                               i.      Supporting driving not only increases the safety on the road, I believe that it makes you a better person by using supportive rather than oppositional or defensive tactics.

 

My Home Page:

 

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2005/geraghty/homepage.htm

 

Helpful Links:

 

www.drdriving.org

 

http://www.aggressive.drivers.com/board/messages/25/47.html

 

http://www.aggressive.drivers.com/papers/james-nahl/james-nahl-paper.html