Robin’s Experience With Driving Psychology

Generation 29, Spring 2009, Psychology 409a

Author: Robin Guerrero

Instructions for this report: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy29/409a-g29-report.htm

Instructor Dr. Leon James: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leon.html

Generation 29 Homepage: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy29/classhome-g29.htm

Introduction

I am currently a student enrolled in Psychology 409a “Driving Psychology” and I have to say that never would I have imagined myself as a bad driver, but since these past few weeks have passed I have learned so much about myself and for that I am grateful that I have taken this course. I have learned about being fair on the road is a must because if we do not work together, we are potentially doomed.

This report is about what I have learned throughout the course and how I have taken my knowledge with me as I drive. Feel free to explore.

Part I Interview

1. Interviewer: This is Howard Black for KFHS Channel 7 News and I’m here with Driving Psychology Expert, Doctor Loraine Smith. Today she is going to be answering your questions you have about your driving and about others while on the road. Hi Doctor, how are you today? Thanks for being on the show.

2. Author: Thank you for having me here on your show, Howard. I’m very happy to be here and I am very eager to answer any questions that the people of New Hampshire may have. Please, ask away.

3. Interviewer: So, if you don’t mind me asking, Doctor Smith, how exactly did you stumble upon the subject of driving psychology?

4. Author: Well, Howard, it’s actually quite an interesting story. I had always thought that I was quite an excellent driver. My husband’s mother came to live with us and whenever she needed to get around she needed a chauffeur and I happened to be home the most. She used to complain non-stop about my driving. I couldn’t figure out why she would get so offended by my driving. After about a year or so of putting up with her complaining I decided to look into it and figure out my flaws.

5. Interviewer: Well, did you figure it out?

Author: Well, I did learn to respect her as a passenger if that answers your question. Though I’m not sure if I have worked out all the kinks just yet.

6. Interviewer: There must be less tension in the car or even in the house, huh? Well, Doctor Smith, I know there are tons of drivers on the road that commit acts of aggressive driving. How exactly would you define such an act so perhaps the next time our viewers are on the road they can be more aware of their actions?

7. Author: Well, aggressive driving can be defined as forcing on others one’s preferred level of risk while driving. You can actually find that definition on my colleague Dr. Leon James’ website drdriving.org.

8. Interviewer: What are a few of these acts?

9. Author: Well, it can actually be something as simple as feeling more stress than normal, or speeding on a normal base. These acts can also get as bad as swearing to other drivers or making insulting gestures. I will admit that I made others the victims of my aggressive driving from time to time. I promise that I have been trying to years, but you know how hard it can be to kick a bad habit.

10. Interviewer: Yes, I think we can all relate to that Doctor Smith. But that sounds a lot like “Road Rage”. What is the difference between the two?

11. Author: Well, yes Howard. Most people will often get the two mixed up. Actually, road rage is defined as the inability to let go of the desire to punish or retaliate against another driver.

12. Interviewer: Are there different types of road rage? And if so, what are they?

13. Author: Well, of course there are many, many different forms of road rage. I am a committer of the Jekyll-Hyde Syndrome.

14. Interviewer: Wow, I am almost afraid to ask what that is.

15. Author: Haha, well, it is nothing out of the ordinary if you ask me. I have seen many people do the same thing every day. It’s simply when someone who outside of his car from behind the wheel of his car is a completely lovely human being. They are very thoughtful and are caring. But the horror comes when the sit in the driver’s seat. They become this completely different person. They are under the impression that everyone is on THEIR road and anyone that does them wrong deserves to be punished.

16. Interviewer: Come to think of it, I think I do that sometimes.

17. Author: See? What did I tell you? Well, there are also many other types of road rage. There is Passive-Aggressive Road Rage, which is when a driver feels wronged so they express their anger by ignoring others or refuses to react appropriately to others on the road. There is also Verbal Road Rage, which is when a driver has a constant habit of complaining about traffic. You also manage to keep a constant stream of mental or verbal acts against other drivers. This often comes from the driver’s inner dialogue that they have kept with themselves. There are also many others, but I do not want to bore you.

18. Interviewer: Well, where does aggressive driving originate?

19. Author: Well, Howard, it begins at a very young age. You learn about aggressive driving and road rage while you are sitting in the back seat of the car and watching your parents perform such acts. That is called the “road rage nursery”. B.F. Skinner would agree with this considering he was a behavioral psychologist and believed that you learn through observing others’ behaviors.

20. Interviewer: Is there anything that we can do to improve such learning?

21. Author: Of course! You can begin to teach your children by setting a better example when you drive. The best and most effective I think is to teach your kids at a very young age what sort of behavior is appropriate. I think that most parents overlook that. They rely heavily on their child’s teacher to teach them the rights and wrongs of life. Such an act of teaching kids this deals with the “Affect” element of the driver’s threefold self, which I will get to in just a bit.

22. Interviewer: What happens when a driver performs such acts and are taken to court?

Author: Well, Howard, in most cases, the judge will give you a slap on the wrist and tell you to take a sort of “driving anger management” course, which is very simple to complete. In all honesty, I do no think that the course is all that effective for the driver.

23. Interviewer: Alright, well, I think our viewers would like to know how men and women differ in driving behavior?

24. Author: I get that question quite a bit. To tell you truth, men and women differ ever so slightly. If you look at our evolution, men are going to be aggressive by nature. So it is only natural that the general public will assume that men are more aggressive than women when they drive, but recent studies have shown that both men and women are almost equally as aggressive as women when they drive.

25. Interviewer: How can that be? Women do not have as much to worry about as men, right?

26. Author: More women are out on the road today than there were say, sixty or seventy years ago. And women certainly have a reason to be aggressive on the road. Even though the idea of women driving more has changed, what is expected of them by society has changed only to some extent. They are still expected to pick their kids up from work, pick up the groceries and the dry cleaning and perform so many more errands. Certainly that would drive me crazy. So it seems that women are more aggressive due to the stress that is related to the duties that they are expected to perform. But, like I said, times have changed and women are out working as well, so they are just as prone to become as aggressive as men after a hard days work.

27. Interviewer: Well, don't statistics show that women drivers are actually worse driver than men? I mean don’t they get into more accidents or get more traffic tickets from the police?

28. Author: That is actually a common stereotype about women. In actuality, Howard, men receive more tickets than men, if you can believe that! Statistics show that men are more likely to get into accidents due to aggressive driving and receive tickets from speeding and women are more likely to get into minor accidents.

29. Interviewer: Interesting. I have never thought about it like that. I guess I should be far nicer to my wife at the end of the day. Honey, if you’re watching this I am very sorry.

30. Author: Yes, you should apologize, heh.

31. Interviewer: Doctor, what is your opinion about using a cellular telephone while driving?

32. Author: Haha, I think many drivers are guilty of performing this act while driving, myself included. Honestly, I think that individuals should NOT use their cellular telephones while behind the wheel of their cars. Statistics show that many accidents are caused because the driver was not paying attention. Many drivers are using their cellular telephones during the time the accidents occur.

33. Interviewer: Well, what about those that use their bluetooth or wire ear pieces?

34. Author: I think the same thing can occur. You are required to put that earpiece in your ear, which can potentially become a distraction. Or when a driver has to initially start the call, they are distracted. And what about the conversation on the phone itself? That too, is very distracting. The call could be upsetting, which in turn can cause the driver to become stressed, or the call could be completely the opposite. The driver could find out some amazing news and could be distracted with those thoughts.

35. Interviewer: Do you think that interviewers can be trained to become more aware while using their cellular telephones?

36. Author: Honestly, and I know many psychologists or others will disagree with me on this, but I do not feel that drivers can truly become trained to use their cellular telephones. I think that you are still capable of getting into an accident. I do think, however, that being trained can HELP prevent the problem, but will not get rid of the problem all together. Plus, who would want to take the time out to become trained to learn how to talk on the phone and driver better? I do not know about you, Howard, but I have a life.

37. Interviewer: Well, how about in driver’s education when teenagers are in high school?

38. Author: I believe that might be too expensive for the state to add an extra day to teach this particular subject. And with what this country has been going through, I do not think that it can afford to add that when they are making budget cuts across the boards.

39. Interviewer: That makes sense. I guess I need to really be cautious when I drive now. Now what was that driver’s threefold self you were talking about?

40. Author: The Driver’s Threefold Self is composed of three things: Sensorimotor Self, Cogntive Self, and Affective Self. You need to think about these three when you are trying to analyze your driving.

The sensorimotor self has to do with your surroundings and how well you are able to observe what is going on around you.

Next you need your cognitive self to analyze what is going on and how you are going ot react to these actions surrounding you.

Lastly, your affective self deals with your emotions, motivations, intentions and feelings. It is what you are doing as the driver after you have finished analyzing.

41. Interviewer: How can the driver understand these three steps, Doctor?

42. Author: It is not a simple task, Howard. The driver needs to acknowledge that his actions may or may not be bad. This is probably the hardest part because who really wants to admit that they are a bad driver? It is like an addict admitting that he is an addict to begin with.

43. Interviewer: Understandable, of course.

44. Author: The next time you are driving try to observe yourself and try to modify your actions. See what you can do to improve your driving and respect for other drivers as well. Many drivers do not understand that there are other citizens using the road and are just as entitled to be on it as you are.

45. Interviewer: How can that be entirely effective though?

46. Author: Well, in essence, I do not think that it truly can be because I know when most drivers attempt this they feel as though they are putting on a play and what actor wants to give a bad performance? Am I right? There’s not much you can really do without feeling self-conscious. That is the whole point of the exercise though, to understand what you are doing and how you can improve your driving.

47. Interviewer: Now, I have read a few of your articles and I am very interested in this lifelong driver education. What is that exactly?

48. Author: Well, Howard, like I mentioned earlier, educating your child on how to become a better driver begins at childhood. The child is witnessing every move you make when you are behind the wheel of your car. For example, they are witnessing how much you yell or swear, or how many times you wave to show your appreciation towards another driver. Parents should be educating their children the suitable behavior while interacting with anyone no matter what the situation may be. We need to engage in an endless task of preventing overt mistakes and suppressing irrational decisions.

49. Interviewer: What happens after elementary school?

50. Author: This education continues with us when we get to middle school. This is when we begin to use or cognitive thinking and relate them with our sensorimotor demonstrations. Such things can include becoming more aware of habits of thinking while walking or riding.

51. Interviewer: Well, what happens after we have grown up?

52. Author: Well, adults need to continue their education through Quality Driving Circles or QDC’s.

53. Interviewer: What are QDC’s?

54. Author: A QDC is a voluntary groups of anywhere between two to ten drivers who meet on a regular basis to encourage and help each other to follow the driving self-improvement program.

55. Interviewer: Can the drivers do this online or does the meeting have to be face to face?

56. Author: Drivers can either hold these meetings face to face or they can create a chat room online and they can communicate with each other that way.

57. Interviewer: Okay, well, I think we have enough time for one more topic. Doctor, what are the amounts of pedestrians that are killed annually?

58. Author: Well, in 1995 over one million pedestrians were killed in the U.S. alone. The elderly are the main victims of these deaths. You can imagine that that number has only gone up since then. According the Los Angeles Times, accidents occurred because motorists failed to stop in 20 pedestrian deaths. They also found that the highest percentage of pedestrian deaths occurred between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. and 9p.m to 12 a.m. due to bad lighting. I guess both pedestrians and motorists have a more difficult time seeing their surroundings during these hours.

59. Interviewer: I can imagine. In these cases, whom can we blame, the motorists or pedestrians?

60. Author: Both can be the cause of the accidents. I have seen pedestrians who are just too impatient to wait for the sign that allows them to walk across the street safely. Do you even notice when pedestrians do not even pay attention when they are crossing the street? They just expect you to let them cross.

61. Interviewer: Yes, I have dealt with a few. But what about motorists?

62. Author: Yes, motorists are to blame for most of these types of accidents. Some motorists will speed up when they see a pedestrian waiting to cross the street so that they do not need to wait when the pedestrian does.

A lot of motorists are just not aware of the pedestrians on the side of the street waiting to cross.

63. Interviewer: Do you think that students should learn how to become a better pedestrian like they are required to learn how to become better drivers?

64. Author: I am not completely convinced that students really need the training. Although you would think that behaving like a decent human is common sense to all people. I would hope that the motivation to not get hit would be enough for pedestrians to pay attention to the motorists on the road because like I mentioned, not all pedestrians are paying attention to the pedestrians along the sidewalk.

65. Interviewer: Well, Doctor Smith, I think that is all the time we have today. Thank you so much for being on the show and answering our questions. I hope our viewers will think twice when they are on the road about their actions after watching. I am sure they are appreciative

66. Author: Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure to be on your show. I hope to be here again answering more questions.

67. Interviewer: I’m Howard Black for KFHS Channel 7 saying, “Good Night”.

Part II Driving Personality Makeover

Introduction

I am attempting this Driving Personality Makeover because I feel there is always improvement for my driving no matter how confident I feel. This incorporates into what we’ve been learning in class. I have always felt that I am responsible driver. After I complete this Driving Personality Makeover, I guess I will find out just how much of that is actually true.

Prior Research

As I reviewed the previous reports from generation 11, I notice that not much has changed. Students have still had to go through the steps that I had to take. One in particular that I enjoyed reading was Cherisse Eguchi’s. I liked the fact that she incorporated definitions from other people. Their definitions seemed to be very similar, but had their own twists. And then she goes into the actual definitions given by psychologists. That is what I thought was interesting.

Her “mini experiment” was the most interesting. You get to see what she was going through and what she was feeling while she drove her car. She describes how restless she becomes when her grandmother drives. So after coming home from Las Vegas she made her grandmother move to the passenger seat. I found that funny because I am the same way when my mother comes to pick me up from the airport. I am very restless because while I go to school on Oahu I rarely have the chance to drive.

The last part that really interested me was her last day of driving. I find myself in so many similar situations. I find that I feel like I am driving at a reasonable speed and another driver will come up behind me and start to tailgate me for no reason and when I get into another lane to try and let them pass they do not.

Corey Egami’s report on his diving personality makeover was very interesting. He describes himself as a very competitive driver. I have seen this behavior in an old boyfriend of mine. He was very into racing his Ford Mustang GT, and competing to see who had the faster car or who could get to a destination with the best of grace was the better driver.

I enjoyed Corey’s intervention section of his personality makeover. I thought that he intervened with himself was the best part. Not a lot of people have the courage to admit that they have a problem and speeding and competing is in fact a problem.

My Makeover Attempt

I plan on attempting to observe myself on the road and making changes as I go along. If I could choose anything to work on while I’m driving it would be to be in more control of my emotions. I have a terrible temper when behind the wheel of the car. I almost feel as though I have the Jekyll-Hyde syndrome while driving. There is a threefold to this Driving Personality Makeover: Sensorimotor, Cognitive, and Affect. The sensorimotor is that with what is going on around you and your car. The cognitive is how you interpret these actions going on. The affective deals with your motivations, emotions, intentions, and feelings. It deals with what you are doing as the driver and how you are feeling basically.

As I sit here thinking about my driving without being behind the wheel I happen to think that I am a fairly good driver. If I had to rate myself I would give myself a 7 out of 10. I feel as though I am in control of the vehicle and my surroundings. I am conscious of my passengers and I do no drink and drive. These It never occurred to me that my emotions were to be included in that. As the class progressed, however, I’ve noticed that I have terrible and very addicting habits when I am driving. Now, as I drove into Kaimuki, I was very worried about what would happen when I drove. I wondered if I overthought about driving too much if I would potentially make a mistake.

Day1: Sensorimotor Makover

For the sensorimotor makeover, I plan on taking a short 20 minutes drive so that my passenger, Gary, and I can observe me while I drive. I think that it might actually be difficult to observe myself in a natural state because I am focused on my driving and surroundings at all times. I have been known to get nervous while I drive so with that I am sure that I exhibit many different behaviors while I drive such as sweat and overgrip the steering wheel. I know I am driver that wears her seatbelt at all times.

As I grew up, I was taught the importance of maintaining everything that you own. I was required to basically respect my belongings and in the long run I would have to say that it was paid off. Although I do not own my car, I still have the respect for it as if it were my own. I was it every weekend and I vacuum it once a month. I feel a dirty car could actually distract you from driving some days. A dirty windshield can block your vision and others while driving, a dirty interior can attract little creatures that can actually distract you while driving as well. So before I took my drive through Kaimuki that day, I made sure that the car was clean inside and out. I would not want drivers to take a look at my car and wonder why I was unable to keep it clean. I have to admit that when I saw a car on the road with more than two accidents created by birds, I judge the driver for not wanting to get it off.

When I was younger my mother played “brake check” with me while I was not wearing my seatbelt and although I was not hurt, she did scare me and I always put my seatbelt on after that incident. I am wondering while I drive how many times I will answer my cell phone or text another. I wonder if I will exceed the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour. I also would like to attempt to preserve gas.

As I was driving around Kaimuki, I noticed that others really are not paying attention to the road or so I thought. I tried to be aware of the other cars around me and the other pedestrians. There were cars cutting into my lane and a few pedestrians walking in the crosswalk, however, they are walking without the permission of the light sign.

I am a seat belt wearer. That is probably the first thing that I do when I get into the car, unless I have forgotten, but the car will remind me after a few seconds, but that is a rarity. I noticed that day that Gary put on his seat belt as soon as he got in as well. I am the kind of person that is always hounding people for not wearing their seat belt and although they may get angry or irritated with me, I really do not care because I feel like if something happened then at least I did something to try and help prevent them from doing more damage to their body in an accident.

Bicyclists made me the most nervous. One biker swerved within his bike lane. Watching him do so, I was unsure if I could pass him safely. As I tried to pass him I could feel like grip tightening. I ended up having to swerve because this biker made me so nervous. I felt really awful because of the driver next to me. I probably made him really nervous by serving close to him.

As I continued my drive I was continuously watching my odometer checking to make sure I was not going over the speed limit, or if I was I made sure I did not go over by more than ten miles per hour. I felt that by doing so, I was unable to give the road my undivided attention like the road and other drivers deserved from me.

I had a hard time trying to take notes while driving and stopping at traffic lights. I think that it made Gary very irritated with me as well.

Day 2: Cognitive Makeover

When I drive, I actually am very guilty of thinking horrible things towards other drivers and other pedestrians. If I am wronged, I feel like the driver should have something happen to them. I do not think I am hoping for this to the extent that they end up in an accident, but if a driver cuts me off I only hope they have the same fait on the road.

I am also a driver who feels their driving should not be criticized. My mother is the worst when it comes to this. She does not even have to say anything. All she has to do is make a noise or a gesture that suggests that my driving worries her. It irritates me quite a bit.

I am actually a prompt person. I like to be at my destination at least ten minutes before I am required to be there, so I leave my starting point pretty early.

In all these areas, with the exception of the last, I plan on improving while I take my short drive.

I plan on taking a drive into town where I can get to a Bank of Hawaii. I plan on focusing now on my cognitive self. I must now think to myself about how I process what is going on around me and think about how to react. After all, that is what the cognitive self is all about.

As I got into the car, I tried to think to myself what I would do as I started driving. I thought about my passenger, Gary. I wanted to try and give him a chance to tell me about what he thought about my driving and how I should listen to him this time if it comes up instead of getting irritated and brushing his comments off my shoulder.

So as I turned the key in the ignition I was ready for the drive to come to the bank. As we came up to a stoplight a biker came up along side of us. This made me very nervous. And just as I anticipated the biker was swerving with his lane and getting close to me. I have to admit that I wanted to run him over, so in that aspect I guess I did not follow the plan that I wanted to execute. But I did catch myself eventually and got back to focusing on the road rather than the biker. I passed him so that I would not have to worry about him again later.

As I took my drive through Kaimuki to Kahala Mall, I concentrated on other drivers. I was cut off twice. I vaguely remember taking my drive at around 3 or 4 o’ clock, which is prime traffic hours in Kaimuki. So I tried to be understanding towards other drivers. I took the time to understand that others were in just a hurry as I was to reach their destinations as I was. It took a lot of patience to do this, however. It seems that it is second nature for me to be rude within the confinements of my car. I really like to curse at others while I drive. Although I have learned in one of my classes that venting in that sort of way is actually not healthy. By doing so I can actually put myself into a worse mood. By learning to control my emotions while others cut me off or do something that I feel is wrong, interestingly, I actually began to calm down faster.

Now, I did not bring my mother along with me on my drive, but I did bring my fiancée, Gary. He has, from time to time, been critical of my driving; my speed, how close I get to other cars, etc. Instead of becoming angry or irritated with him while he still managed to criticize my driving, even though I was concentrating on my driving this time, I really tried to take it as constructive criticism. He would say such things like, “Babe, why are you driving so slow? You’re in the fast lane and everyone is passing you.” I think he took notice to this because he began to stop doing it. I was unbelievably thankful for this because if he did not, I am not sure I could have continued the drive with him nagging at me.

Since I had a difficult time taking notes while I drove the first day, I decided to take a tape recorder along with me and I feel as though that was actually a better idea because hearing the tone of my voice while driving, especially when I was stuck in small traffic while I was on my way to the bank, I had issues.

Day 3: Affective Makeover

This time I do no plan on driving with a passenger in my car. I would like to see if I could still create a difference in my driving without having someone else judging me. My prediction is that I may slip up a bit more, but I will still be able to concentrate on my driving personality makeover.

For my affective makeover I plan on controlling my emotions much better than I am used to usually. That is something that I severely lack. When on the road, like most drivers, I do not understand that other drivers are unable to hear me when I go off when I am frustrated with them.

I also would like to use more positive words towards drivers. I like to curse at drivers and I realize, after taking this class, that it is pointless and only stresses myself out more. So plan on creating a more positive environment in my vehicle while driving.

I would like to understand that others have just as much right to be on the road as myself. I tend to have a “Jekyll-Hyde” side to me when I drive. I would like to improve that.

I jumped into the driver seat and was on my way. I am not sure if I had a destination initially, so I just drove, getting onto the freeway. Although I tried to remember that others have a right to be on the road, I highly doubted that others felt the same about me. As soon I tried to enter the freeway, many drivers were reluctant to let me into their lanes so that I could continue on my way. This made me a little angry, but I tried to restrain.

As I continued, I decided that I would travel to Aiea and visit Pearlridge Shopping Center. It was quite a ride and I was ready for whatever wanted to come my way. I think not having a passenger really helped because I felt like I could be free to make my own decisions without anyone harassing at me about my driving.

I was unable to execute my entire plan because I was not presented with many more problems other than the initial freeway entrance incident. However, I did try to create a more positive environment within my vehicle. The music that I had put on, I feel, was bouncy and I remained in a happy mood throughout the rest of the trip.

Conclusion

I would recommend everyone try to do a Driving Personality Makeover. I feel like it really helped me improve my skills as a driver. I am more aware of what is going on inside my car and outside of it. I feel more in control of myself, which makes me happy. I seem to get along better with my passengers as well. They do not seem to be harping on me all the time about how they are uncomfortable with my driving styles or about what I am doing wrong.

I feel that adults that have had their licenses for more than 20 years should do this personality makeover because I think that their bad habits as drivers have been seared into their everyday driving techniques. They could potentially be setting a bad example for their kids or other drivers.

Part III Annotated Web Resources on Driving Psychology

1. “Driving Personality Makeover”

http://www.drdriving.org/articles/makeover.htm

Dr. James’ knowledge of driving psychology has really helped me understand why I drive the way that I do. I feel that if more drivers attempted a driving personality makeover the road would be much safer for drivers now and those to come in the future.

http://books.google.com/books?id=xtkVrYfcAZkC&pg=PA42&lpg=PA42&dq=%22Driving+Personality+Makeover%22&source=bl&ots=ZWBmmClQC8&sig=qKWwbFJGTMHHCeIPwHnhj2bsqS4&hl=en&ei=PLTvScXMCpe4sgP1p8DkCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#PPA41,M1

I chose this site because it gives you a background of driving personality makeovers and it is somewhat of a teaching book for those that need assistance while they are attempting a driving personality makeover.

2. “Jekyll-Hyde Syndrome

http://www.beverlyengel.com/books/jekyllandHydesyndrome.html

I chose this site because the author gives you a general description of what the Jekyll-Hyde Syndrome is. Many drivers are guilty of performing this act when they get behind the wheel of their car, myself included. They are generally good people, but when they get into their cars their personalities change and it is scary.

http://www.thirdage.com/today/mens-health/the-jekyll-hyde-syndrome-why-midlife-men-turn-mean?page=1

I liked this website because it explains that men are more prone to performing symptoms of this syndrome than women, which is something that does not surprise.

3. “Road Rage”

http://www.roadragers.com/

I chose this site because it informs those that do suffer from road rage whether you are the victim or you are the party guilty of performing such acts they have tips for you. I found it quite interesting. They even have a quiz on the site for you to see how bad your road rage is.

http://www.awesomelibrary.org/road-rage.html

I liked this website because it was one that informed the reader about how to prevent road rage, which is something that I think many drivers and future drivers should be informed of.

4. “Quality Driving Circles”

http://www.drdriving.org/articles/qdc.htm

I liked this website because Dr. James defines what a QDC is and how they work. He informs the reader about how in these circles you should be encouraging other drivers to perform better and in a more healthy matter while on road. He links the driving personality makeover when he mentions how drivers should be re-educated about driving.

http://www.addictionrecov.org/paradigm/P_PR_W98/James.html

This website is just another of Dr. James’, but it is a general education about road rage and how you can either prevent it or improve your driving.

5. “Pedestrian”

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/

This site is for pedestrians and cyclists. It is for the safety of these beings on the road. They have just as much a right to be on the road than others. I think that drivers should look into this site and understand that pedestrians and cyclists have the right to be safe on the road.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.dfedd570f698cabbbf30811060008a0c/

This is another site that informs that are interested about the safety about pedestrians and cyclists.

6. “Life-long Driver’s Education”

http://www.drdriving.org/articles/lifelong-driver-education-article.htm

This site is a part of Dr. James’ and Dr. Nahl’s book. It educates those that are interested in what Life-Long Driver’s Education is and how they can help those that would like to teach young children, especially parents about how they can set a better example for their children.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/05/19/lifeandtimes/z3911e14ab4f1274b8825744a005df393.txt

This is a newspaper article that is letting the public know about the best solutions for “traffic woes”.

7. “Driver’s Threefold Self”

http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/LEONj/leonj/leonpsy/instructor/driving1.html

Dr. James is very knowledgeable when it comes to driving psychology and if you want to know about the driver’s threefold self and the driver’s personality disorder this is the website you want to visit.

http://roadragewhatitsreallyabout.blogspot.com/

This site makes a reference to Dr. James, but this site explains what the driver’s threefold self and it explains how you would go about creating a driving personality makeover.

8. “Behavioral Psychology”

http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/tp/behavioral-psychology-basics.htm

This site explains how behavioral psychology of “behaviorism” works. By doing so, you can understand how children learn how to drive from observing from others.

http://allpsych.com/psychology101/learning.html

This site is educates the individual about the basics behind behavioral psychology.

9. “Break Check”

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=brake+check

I picked this site because this one of the few that explained what I wanted to get through.

http://www.dailyfueleconomytip.com/driving-habits/fuel-economy-tip-dont-brake-check/

I liked this site because it explained about how doing a “break check” is actually not safe for both you and the other car, plus it is not good for the car.

10. “Verbal Road Rage”

http://www.motorcycle.com/how-to/road-rage-and-you-3409.html

I liked this site because it explains what verbal road rage and I think that it is important for drivers to understand what it is and how they can refrain from doing it.

http://www.ci.cedar-park.tx.us/cp/page250148.aspx?print=Y

This site just elaborates on what road rage and what verbal road rage is.