Psychology 409a
Neuro-Behavior Variables and Traffic Safety
By: Cody-Allen Ching
Rothe, J.P., Driving Lessons: Exploring
Systems That Make Traffic Safer. The
Instructions for this assignment:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/g24-oral1.htm
Instructor: Dr. Leon James
I. The Importance of Neuropsychology and Higher Brain Functions.
A. mainly deals with memory, perception, behavior, personality, decision making, etc.
1. Importance of neuropsychological examinations
a. may give us a general idea of that individual’s ability of their driving skills and find out about their strengths and weakness driving wise and also looking at the psychological aspect at the same time.
II. Neuropsychology and Screening Systems
A. drivers who are at a higher risk (more potentially dangerous)
1. elderly drivers (potential issues listed below)
a. Alzheimer’s disease (impairs driving in some cases)
b. Dementia (higher chances when related to car accidents)
c. Vision limitation capabilities/reaction/responsiveness to certain situations as well.
2. young drivers (potential problems listed below)
a. more prone to speeding and driving recklessly
b. driving with alcohol and drug use
i. puts others in danger including yourself
ii. its goes against our state laws
III. Improved Screening Systems
A. they are mainly designed for drivers that are potentially hazardous
1. “there is a positive relationship between sensation-seeking and
risky driving.” (p.16)
2. people with strokes are more prone to visual perception disability
and with those problems it can affect decision making in a negative way.
B. relationship between the brain and driving
1. “driving is a complex cognitive task. Drivers “see” with their
brain, which is why “looking without seeing” or driving without paying close attention to the task is a common contributing factor in vehicle crashes.” (p. 17)
IV. Supporting Fallible Human Behavior
A. drowsy driving
1. lack of sleep impairs driving
a. can affect driver’s ability to respond to a certain situation.
b. driver can fall asleep on the road.
i. example: I had a friend that feel asleep on the road after
leaving my house, I asked him if he was tired and he said “nah I can” and he keep insisted that to me, and then on the way home he called me up because he fell asleep went through a fence and into the golf course. Damages came out to 5 digits.
B. left handed drivers are also more prone to car crashed versus right handed drivers.
Related Links
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outreach/safedige/spring2000/spr00-13.html I choose this link
because it relates to this chapter. This
shows that it’s not only the elderly, but a lot of the underage (young drivers)
also contribute to the “chaos” on the roads.
Basically what they are trying to do is to prevent and reduce the number
of underage drinking and driving.
http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/srdriving well since I put up
a topic of young driver, this one applies to elderly drivers which relates to
the topic as well. It talks about how
driving abilities start to fade especially after age 60. and
most important it answers the question. “when it is
time to stop driving?
http://www.luhs.org/depts/injprev/Transprt/tran1-02.htm I choose this one because it is really to my
topic and because one of my friends recently fell asleep on the road. It basically just gives some tips on the
prevention (which is the most important in my opinion) towards drowsy
driving. The key point here is that it
not only put yourself in danger but it also puts
innocent people in danger as well.
My Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2006/hasegawa/hasegawa-home.htm
Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/classhome-g24.htm