PSY 409a-Driving Psychology, April 1, 2006

Driving Lessons 193-201

By Leigh-Taina Look

Rothe, J. Peter, Driving Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer, Edmonton, Alberta: The University of Alberta, 2002, pages 193-201.

Instructions for this activity are found at:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/g24-oral1.htm

Instructor: Dr. Leon James

I. The Communicational Power of Driving

a) driving = power for many people

b) having access to things gives us the feeling of freedom and power

c) auto industry interested in promoting use of car

1) more demands = more quantity

2) more quantity = more business

d) industry and commerce want to control government

II. People, Business, and Governments

a) governments today make their decisions in response to pressure from business and voters

b) majority of drivers drive well

c) responsibility in the use of the car opposes the right to use it and the carefree attitudes promoted by the mass media

1) need to find the values that the public supports strongly and shift the meaning of these values

d) division of three groups

1) group 1 = careless drivers

2) group 2 = careful drivers

3) group 3 = imitators

III. Ethics and Communication

a) the promotion of a public change in attitude requires a recognition of the multiplicity of people and an ethical communications approach

b) need to communicate with people about things

c) every situation of human communication falls within the field of ethics

d) one communicates with someone about something

IV. The Active Viewer

a) audience has to speak

b) mass media renders audience passive

c) all aspects of passivity are allowed and promoted by culture and the media

d) passive viewer is the communicational counterpart of the passive citizen

V. The Structure of the Communicational Engagement

a) values and motivation

1) need to offer a positive cultural value for the behavior being promoted

b) fear?

1) giving statistics on the number of people injured or killed in a year

c) money?

1) implement more safety devices on roads such as more officer enforcement or more traffic equipment

I chose this website because it gives information about traffic incidents being the leading cause of death during the winter months. I felt this relative to the chapter in Driving Lessons because of the idea of using fear to inform drivers around the country. Although this site does not give that much statistical information, it does give you information on things to keep in your car or what to check for so to be safe.

http://drivingrules.net/

I chose this site because it allows drivers to look up driving laws on the internet if they are not aware of them. It is also easy access for those who are learning how to drive or for those who are trying to contest a ticket. This website is also very useful for people who disagree with the law and want to put up a fight to change it. What I like most about the site is the heads-up on upcoming laws or ideas that are being discussed to become a law.

http://www.idrivesafely.com/

I chose this site because it offers many online courses to help improve driving skills. All of the classes are state certified but they do come at a monetary cost. Some of the classes being offered are defensive driving, driver improvement, first-time driver, point reduction, aggressive driving, traffic school, insurance discount, seatbelt/child safety, driver training, and corporate fleet.

My Homepage:

www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2006/look/look-home.htm

Class Homepage: