The New
Way of Driving
G29 Generation, Spring 2009, Psychology 409a
Student author: Amy Tsubota: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2009/tsubota/tsubota-home.htm
G29 Student Reports Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409as2009/
Instructor Dr. Leon James: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy/leon.html
Instructions for this Report: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy29/409a-g29-report.htm
Class Home Page for G29: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy29/classhome-g29.htm
Introduction: A Whole
New World of Driving
Hello, my name is Amy Tsubota and I am
taking Dr. James Driving Psychology class. I honestly learned a lot in this
class. It helped me see whole new perspectives of the driving world that I
thought never existed. For example, the merging debate, who would’ve known that
there are researchers trying to study whether early merging is better or late
merging, is better, or figuring where exactly is the best place to merge so
they can make the flow of traffic smoother.
Also, who would’ve known that there are
people who make hypermiling into a daily routine? I did not even know there was
such a technique that could help save energy, miles, and cost. But also, I did
not know that it can be dangerous and a type of aggressive driving. On a
personal level, I learned that one of my family members can be an aggressive
driver, and that as a passenger I should not feel scared while that member is
driving. It is also our right to feel protected while in a vehicle as a
passenger.
And while being in this class, I
learned that the driver has to want to change for himself, for the change to be
successful. After learning so many things, I feel like it is my responsibility
to help my family members change their ways, because sometimes their driving is
pretty scary and I do not want other people to be frightened by it. So, as you
can see driving affects basically everyone. It would be good for everyone to
learn at least some of the things this class has taught us!
Part I: My Stimulated Interview on Driving Psychology
1.
Interviewer: 2) How
do you define aggressive driving?
2.
Author: Well, there is no definite answer
to that, but to me, aggressive driving is driving with a reckless or
irresponsible behavior, for example, speeding with your vehicle, not paying
attention to the road, tail gating people because they cut you off, not obeying
traffic laws, or someone who continuously switches lanes because the other lane
seem to be faster. It is funny because there are people who think that
aggressive driving is a type of driving style, so it is not really hostile, it
just shows how confident and competitive they can be.
But as a society, these days, they are
referring aggressive driving and also road rage to hostile and illegal driving
because this kind of driving is really dangerous.
3. Interviewer: 2)
Well, how do you measure aggressive driving?
4.
Author: Aggressive driving can be
measured indirectly or directly. Indirect is a measurement by not being
observed, and relying on someone else. For example, you doing a checklist on
how aggressive you are, of course it is going to be hard to admit where you
actually are aggressive.
A direct measurement is
when you are directly observed. For example, an officer tickets you for
aggressive driving, like speeding. The only thing is that he would have to
observe you for 5 minutes before he can pull you over.
5.
Interviewer: 2) Can you tell me why this is an important issue?
6.
Author: This is an important issue
because the statistics show that aggressive driving has increased since the
late 1980s and that crash injuries reached six million each year, even though
cars and roads are safer. This shows how much of an impact aggressive and
reckless driving can have. Studies have shown that it is also growing in many
countries now, even worldwide.
For example, in New Delhi, there is no
traffic engineering, so if no one lets them drive through the intersection,
people will honk and try to push their way in until someone stops. You can see
already that this is not a safe driving practice and can cause a lot of
accidents which shows that this is a growing issue everywhere.
7.
Interviewer: 3) What exactly is road rage?
8.
Author: Well, there are a lot of
different definitions for the term road rage. To sum it up, road rage is
referred to going into a state of anger that leads to aggressive behavior,
whether verbal or physical. So an example of a verbal road rage would be
calling other drivers names, like “Stupid clown, I’ll kill you!” and an example
of a physical road rage would be actually getting out of the vehicle and
causing damage by kicking the other driver’s car.
9.
Interviewer: 3) What are the different types of road rage
and please contrast it from aggressive driving?
10.
Author: Aggressive driving is different
from road rage by not actually going into a state of out of control behavior;
it is actually like a habit or something done on a daily basis. For example,
aggressive driving would be tail gating someone who cuts you off but road rage
would be actually following them to the destination and beating them up causing
an incident. So, road rage takes aggressive driving to a whole new level. There
are many different types of road rage.
There is habitual road rage, which is a way to get back at drivers who act
badly, that way we feel better and more superior. Another type is passive aggressive road rage, which is when a person holds all the feeling
of anger, from like being mistreated or wronged, and then taking all that anger
out on the victim, because they can’t take it anymore.
A really scary type of road rage that
is also really dangerous is epic road
rage, which is when the driver gets caught in this super hero role and goes
to extreme measures against their victim. They think about hurting their
victim, like following them and punching them to death, or shooting them till
their dead, and they sometimes unconsciously really doing these things.
11.
Interviewer: 5) Can you tell me what the merging debate
is and the issues that are drawn in?
12.
Author: The merging debate has two
categories, which are Early Mergers
or Late Mergers. Early merging is
when you see signs that a lane is closing from several miles away and you merge
into the open lane to avoid late merging. It is good because you won’t feel
forced to merge, even though it may take longer to pass the construction zone
because you are in a line of cars. Studies have shown that it helps lessen
forced merging, fewer traffic conflicts, and fewer rear end collisions.
The only bad thing about early merging
is that the line in the lane is way longer earlier and it takes longer because
full capacity of that lane is being used. Late merging is when you merge at the
last sign and area where they cone off to let late mergers in the other lane.
The good thing about late merging is that you don’t have to wait, as long as
the early mergers because the road being blocked, is being used by half of its
capacity, and they get an advantage to get ahead of early mergers.
The bad thing about late mergers is
that when they make their way to the end of the off ramps, they could block a
free flowing lane of traffic and irritate others when trying to merge and some
people would call them “cheaters.”
13.
Interviewer: 5) Why do you think it is a hard problem to
solve? And who do you think is right and who is wrong?
14:
Author: I think it is a hard problem to
solve because everyone has their own opinions about early merging and late
merging. If they think that early merging is better they are just going to get
in the lane earlier and if they believe in late merging they will merge later.
At the same time everyone is doing their own thing and it causes traffic
problems, for example, people can get rear ended, feel angry because the late
mergers didn’t have to wait as long as they did, or get into forceful accidents
because the early mergers won’t let them in.
To me, I think there is no right and
wrong, because depending on certain situations, it could be better to late
merge or early merge. For example, it is better to early merge on off ramps,
that way others won’t feel cheated and it is more polite.
15.
Interviewer: 5) What are some of the solutions for
managing this issue?
16.
Author: I think a good solution would be
educating people on the merging debate. Honestly, I never even knew anything
about early merging or late merging. If people were more aware of the merging
phenomenon, I think it will help open eyes and people will take notice. And
traffic engineers are more aware of this problem. For example, in Minnesota
they decided to refine the Dynamic Late Merge, which is when flashing signs are
activated when the traffic volume is at the point where late merging is
optimum.
17.
Interviewer: 7) How are men and women different in
driving behavior and explain this.
18.
Author: Men are seen as more aggressive
than women. In the section of the book, Gender Effect, it talks about how men
have more experiences in negative emotions, like rage, impatience, or danger
and women are seen as more compassionate. Also, men are seen to be more of a
risk taker and thrill seeker because they have more testosterone than women.
This is shown true because insurance rates for young men are charged 18 percent
above the base rate.
So, young men are more prone to get
into accidents. But because of changes in society and culture, (for example,
more women are working) women are also rising in aggressiveness, just not as
much as men.
19.
Interviewer: 7) Are the statistics on this issue reliable
or valid?
20.
Author: I think the statistics on this
issue is reliable and valid. There are many studies done on this issue. Many
different articles all agree that men are killed more in car accidents than
females, especially when men are young.
21.
Interviewer: 7) What motivates the stereotype that women
drivers are worse than men, or that women can’t park?
22.
Author: Well, women are seen to be more
careless when they are driving, because they have bad judgment errors. So, when some
women have to park, it will take them awhile to get into the stall because they
cannot make good judgment, as for if a male driver parks it would only be a
second. Also, when women drivers get into accidents, it is seen as such an easy
mistake that could have been avoided by male drivers, compared to when a male
driver gets in an accident, it is seen as something big because of how risky it
was.
23. Interviewer: 8) Explain what the great hypermiling debate
is and what are some of the dangers of it? What are some good things about it
also?
24. Author: The debate with
hypermiling is that some people see it as aggressive driving, but some people
see it as a way to save money, energy, and prevent pollution. Some of their
good techniques or habits they get into daily are making their car light as can
be, warming up their engine before driving, inflating tire pressure, and
coasting which can get 60 mpg out by going 5 mph.
It is seen as aggressive
driving because some people take it to the extreme, for example for the
“drafting” technique they like to tail gate big vehicles, so that it reduces
flow of air which helps increase gas mileage. But it is really dangerous
because you can’t see ahead what the traffic conditions are like. Also, they
practice hypermiling in the left lane, where they go lower than speed limit and
they assume others will pass them in the right lane, which a lot of people get
annoyed at because sometimes they’ll just get stuck behind.
25. Interviewer: 8) Is this problem getting worse or better?
26. Author: This problem is
getting a bit worse, because people are turning it into a competitive thing and
taking it to the extreme. There are going to be newbie’s that want to try
hypermiling, so just from them, there is going to be a lot of mistakes and
misunderstandings of how it is supposed to be done. I think instead of trying
on your free will, people should take classes and be educated on safe ways of
hypermiling.
27. Interviewer: 9)
What is your opinion on cell phones, to
have hand held or speaker based cell phones? Why do researchers have such a
hard time to decide on this problem?
28. Author: I think it would
be safer to have a speaker based cell phone, so at least you can have two hands
on the wheel. It is much harder to drive with a hand held cell phone, I notice
I tend to not operate my car to its fullest potential because for example, when
I talk to someone I sometimes drop my phone and I actually try to find it,
while I am still driving. So, I have no idea if the car in front of me is going
to stop and when it does CRASH! But, luckily it hasn’t got to that point yet.
Researchers have such a hard time with this because
everyone has cell phones. Studies by “The National Traffic Safety
Administration estimates that there will be 80 million cell phone users by the
end of 2000.” And in our world today, it seems like both hand held and speaker
based cell phones can be a distraction while we are driving especially in young
and in the elderly.
29. Interviewer: 9) Should there be legislation to ban the
use of all phones while driving? And should drivers be trained to use cell
phones when driving? Can this be the basis for licensing the use of cell phones
in cars?
30. Author: Studies have
shown that automobile crashes have increased while the driver is talking on the
cell phone. I think the legislation shouldn’t ban the use of all phones while
driving, because even if they do, people will still talk on the phone. They
would probably hide their phones whenever they see a cop, but after they pass
them they would continue talking on the phone. So, I think that drivers should
be trained to use cell phones when driving.
I had a lot of close calls, even to this day,
so if there was a way to teach drivers, I think it would really help. It is
worth a try. And I don’t think that it can be the basis for licensing the use
of cell phones in cars. Because cell phones are a big part of our life now, I
don’t think drivers would care if they had to be licensed to use cell phones or
not.
31. Interviewer: 10) Define the threefold self of the driver.
How does it help drivers?
32.
Author: The threefold self of the driver
is describes how our driving behavior consists of 3 different parts of
personality. 1) Affective consists
of our feelings when driving 2)
Cognitive consists of what the driving is thinking 3) Sensorimotor consists of what the driver see and hears and their
actions.
If a driver can master these threefold
self they can overcome making reckless decisions that can be dangerous or
harmful to their self or others around them. And this will show that they can
be in control of their own emotion, actions, and thoughts.
33.
Interviewer: 10) Should drivers be taught about their
threefold self? And how is this done?
34.
Author: I believe drivers should be
taught about the threefold self because it can make them into better drivers.
It is done by three different domains: 1) Kindergarten
and Elementary School, which focuses on the Affective driving skills, and
should be taught first. You would learn how to establish your attitude behind
the wheel. You learn things like how you
can create stress inside and outside of your car and trying not to be
competitive by conquering space.
2)
Middle School, which focuses on the cognitive and sensorimotor. In this
domain you learn how be more aware instead of daydreaming and understanding
what is safe for everyone on the road, (like children, pedestrian, and
cyclists. 3) High School, which focuses on adding on Sensorimotor driving
skills. You would have to learn how to drive with a licensed and experienced
driver and things like controlling facial rage.
And even after they graduate after high
school they still need to continue driving. There are programs like the Quality
Driving Circles, where a small group of people meet up and practice driving and
follow up on the threefold self.
35.
Interviewer: 10) How is the threefold self of men drivers and
women drivers different?
36.
Author: Men have a harder time of
bettering themselves than women do. Men have more pride and might not want to
go through with it as much as women do. Women would be more compelled to go
through the threefold of self because it would give them more confidence when
driving.
37.
Interviewer: 10) How is the threefold self related to
emotional intelligence?
38.
Author: The threefold self is related to
emotional intelligence because they both deal with you to looking into your
feelings, thoughts, and actions. When you are in control of these three you can
have positive feeling and are less likely to go do something reckless and
negative.
39.
Interviewer: 11) What
is your proposal for lifelong driver education and what would it take to have
this plan adopted by society? Why hasn’t it been done?
40.
Author: My
proposal is to have people follow programs like the Lifelong Driver Education
program. It takes a long time for someone to change, particularly, when they
learned it a certain way and made it into a habit. So, we should try to start
the process of change early on in life like in kindergarten. As parents, our
kids watch our behaviors (whether good or bad) while driving, so we should
teach them the proper way of driving all the way till they are adults
themselves, especially till the end of high school. Because they are the next
generation of drivers, but once they are able to get their license, they should
be taught that driving education is continuous and should not be stopped because
they can fall into bad habits anytime. So, we should let them know that today
there are actually groups, like the Quality Driving Circle group, that gather
to practice safe driving and to maintain the good way of driving.
41.
Interviewer: 12) What is the age of rage?
42.
Author: The age of rage defined as how
our society now are turning to support and promote the acceptance of violent
and aggressive behaviors. People are becoming to see that anger is okay on
television or on video games.
43.
Interviewer: 12) How is it related to aggressive driving?
And what other sorts of rages are there today?
44.
Author: It is related to aggressive
driving by making people have a negative attitude when driving. For example, if
the driver had a bad day at work he would probably take it out on other drivers
by criticizing them. Different types of rages are the parking lot rage,
sidewalk rage, Surf rage, and many more. So, we can see that rage is spreading
everywhere!!
45.
Interviewer: 12) Is it going to get better or worse? Do
media play a role?
46.
Author: I think that it is getting worse.
People are getting influenced by media about violence and aggression. Our
culture is not really showing us how to control our anger, but to take it out
on other people. Especially, video games are getting really aggressive and
people actually want it to be aggressive to have fun.
Part II: My Driving Personality Makeover
Introduction: To Change or Not to Change
Have you ever wondered how your driving
affects others, whether in a good way or in a bad way? I honestly never really
thought about it, until my boyfriend claimed that I was a really bad driver. At
that time, I didn’t know how to fix my driving ways appropriately. There were
times I took his opinion into consideration, by slowing down my turns or just
driving slow in general, but it was never consistent.
While I took Driving Psychology, I
learned that not only did it affect my passengers in my vehicle, but it
affected people outside of my vehicle, and most importantly me. That was when
it clicked. I had to want to change
for myself and not for my boyfriend. This is one of the most important steps
in, The Three Step Driver Self Improvement Program, which is to acknowledge. This is the first step,
because if you don’t want to change for yourself, then it will never be a
consistent change.
I can see that’s what had happened to
me, whenever I drove without my boyfriend I drove more carelessly, not thinking
about the opinions he had of my driving. The second step is to witness all the things that go through
your head internally and externally, like your feelings and how you act when
you’re driving. For example, my boyfriend is a pretty good driver, and he lets
me know when I don’t drive too smoothly or that I tend to speed up when I
drive. So, basically he lets me know my bad traits, which can be frustrating at
times.
Because of what I learned, I found to
that it’s good to take criticism positively and turn it into something that you
can work on. The third step is to modify,
which is to change the problem one step at a time. I learned that change can
take a long time, so we have to keep practicing to keep the good habits going.
So, don’t give up!
Prior Research: Summarizations of Other Articles
One of the articles that stood out to me was by Jocelyn Manibusan, from generation 11. She talked about
how she wanted to change the way she drove too close to other cars in front of
her. She stated that she unconsciously got into the habit of closing in on
space because during traffic times, she noticed that people would try to force
their way in front of her, if there was enough space. During her makeover, I
thought she had a good idea of having someone with her while she was in the
process of changing her behavior.
Also,
it was good that she told herself, that she was driving too close each time she
ganged up on a car, even though her passenger was there. This shows how
committed she is to this makeover. I
think what would have been better was if her passenger logged how many times
she drove too close and how many times she told herself that she was too close
and see if it decreases in time.
Another
report that I found was by Jason Nakasato from generation 2. His makeover
attempt was pretty easy. He was to record his thoughts, feelings, actions for 5
days, to see if self awareness would make him a better driver. I think he
started off well, by using a tape recorder to record whatever comes to mind. On
his report, he logs three days, he never finishes the last two days, so his
report isn’t as valid as Jocelyn’s report.
It
seemed like he tried only once to change his ways, so I think he went back to
his old driving habits and decided not to go through and finish the makeover
plan. This shows his lack of commitment to changing and how hard it is to
change for some people. But, for his makeover plan I think he needed to change
and get out of his old habit of focusing on the wrong things while on the
road.
I found
another report by Craig Kawamura from generation 10. His self
modification was based on reducing his anger whenever other vehicles cut him
off. He had his friend take down how many times he got mad and then let him
know. And his self solution was to tell himself things like, “They should not
ruin his day” or “He’s just in a rush.” But his report was very consistent
because he did it for 4 days.
He said
he learned a lot from his self modification and that he wishes that others
would try to get rid of their bad habits. I would say that this study is valid
because he had someone track the amount of times he got angry. He concluded
that after this modification he eventually learned to just ignore the people
cutting him off, so it shows that he really wanted to change his anger problem.
My Makeover Attempts
I learned that when I want to
change the behavior of my driving, I have to go through the threefold self which is: sensorimotor, cognitive, and affective. To learn
how to use sensorimotor is controlling things like motor reactions,
vision, or stress. An example would be making sure you check your mirrors, or
not talking on phone while driving.
For cognitive it is controlling your
inner thoughts and judgments, for example, you think positively and not
negatively about people who cut you off. And lastly, for affective, it
helps you control your feelings, emotions, and morals. An example is when you
learn how to be less scared towards cops by following the law. So, after you
put each aspect into play you can totally change your behavior to a good
behavior in time. But the only thing is that you have to keep practicing it for
it to work appropriately.
Make Over #1- Sensorimotor
For my
sensorimotor experiment, I am going to try and learn how to drive smoothly and
gradually. My boyfriend and friends always complain about how I brake or stop
abruptly whenever I stop or go. He also said that he feels car sick every time
I drive. And one of my friend said that her head flies forward every time I
stop or slow down or when I press the gas pedal. I thought it was funny, because
it was actually true, but I realized that my passengers shouldn’t feel like
that. They should not feel uncomfortable when I drive or scared.
So, I
came up with a plan to drive smoothly and gradually. I had a diary and in the
diary I wrote a short check list and before I drive to my destination, I have
to read the check list out loud. The check list has 8 goals, which are: 1. Try
to be gradual 2. Don’t speed up, whenever I see a stop sign or stop light. 3.
Try not to scare passengers or yourself 4. If I’m late don’t rush, drive
smoothly 5. Slow down gradually, when can see traffic lights from afar 6.
Always press the gas pedal gradually 7. Be positive. 8. Tell yourself,
“slowly~” when breaking or beginning to press gas pedal. So, after I read this
out loud, I can write how I am feeling before and after I drive, and underneath
that I had a part for the passengers to leave any comments, and if they were in
the vehicle with me they would check the ones that I successfully accomplished
in that day. I drive a lot in a day so I was going to do this checklist every
time I drive my car.
OBERVATION:
In the morning I actually woke up late.
So, when I got in my car I read the checklist, but I never wrote how I felt
because I was late. As I was driving, I raced out of my drive way and I pushed
the gas pedal down to full speed. I kind of did not care about this, because I
was the only one in my car. But when I saw the stop sign down the road, I
decided to take this make over seriously.
When I got to my destination, I looked
over the check list again and I checked only 4. I forgot to tell myself
“slowly,” I failed to not rush, I did not always push the gas pedal gradually,
and I was not positive about it. After, I noticed how much I checked off; I
decided to take it more seriously, the next time I drove because it made me
want to improve myself.
So, the second time I drove. I had a
passenger. I read the check list out loud and gave her my book for her to check
off my goals accomplished. It was easier to stay focused when she was there
because it made me feel like I should be more careful. Every time I pressed the
gas pedal or braked I told myself, “slowly or easy” more often. When we got to
our destination, she graded me, and I ended up having 8 checks. It really made
a difference when she was with me, but I needed to do it without having someone
with me too.
The third time, I had to drive I had
the same passenger. But this time she sat in the back. I read the checklist and
gave her my book again. Feeling positive about my last results, I thought to
myself, “I can do this.” It felt different because I could not see my friend,
but I knew she was watching me. But, as we reached our destination, my friend,
said that she checked all 8 again, but she told me, my driving was really
smooth.
The fourth time, I had to drive, I was
by myself. I read the checklist with a positive attitude and I thought to
myself “I can do this without passengers!” So, as I started driving all I
thought to myself was “smooth” and “gradual.” When I got to my last destination
for the day, I looked over the checklist and I checked off all 8. I was so
happy.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I noticed that as I kept
reading the checklist throughout the day, it was like someone reminding me,
don’t forget to slow down and just take it easy. I actually thought telling
myself when I was driving to go easy and slowly, helped me a lot. And it helped
a lot when I wanted to change and take this makeover seriously. The next day, I
found myself just doing it automatically (softly pushing the gas pedal and
slowly braking). I plan on doing this as long as I can, for the sake of myself
and my boyfriend and friends.
Make Over #2- Cognitive
For my cognitive experiment, I decided to
do it on remembering to leave early, so that I do not rush. I have a problem of
getting up late, and I want to change that because I feel like that’s what is
making me a bit aggressive in the mornings when I drive to school. I feel it
would be safer for me to make this change because then I would not be speeding
crazy and getting mad at people when it is not even their fault.
For this make over, I decided that I’m
going to get up early and keep a diary and write what I am thinking before I
drive and after I drive. On top of that if I do get up late, I’m going to tell
myself, “Don’t rush, I’m going to be late anyway.” Hopefully that will help me
slow down. And if someone drives slowly, I’m going to tell myself, “Relax, it’s
not their fault, they are just on time.”
OBSERVATION
April 09, 2009
I ended up waking up late. My class had
already started. I told myself, “Don’t rush, I’m going to be late anyway in the
beginning. But as I drove more I caught myself driving faster, I believe I was
going 10 mph more. When I caught myself I told myself, to “Relax, why rush.” As
I got out of the Pali tunnel there was a 3 car collision. So, I thought to
myself, “Good thing I did not rush, because that could have been me.” I
probably would have been aggressive by speeding and change lanes
constantly.
I was so glad I decided to start on
this make over plan today. That seriously woke me up, if I was driving how I
was before, I could have been involved in this accident. But, as I was driving,
the accident brought a lot of cops on the Pali, so that also helped me maintain
a steady speed while I was driving to school.
When I got to school, I wrote in my
dairy about how I thought it was very successful. Especially when I saw the
accident and cops, because it made me think that it is better to be late than
rush and be in an accident.
April 10, 2009
I ended up waking up early today,
because I felt bad going to class late yesterday. But I was proud of myself for
actually getting to class on time. It felt like I did not have to rush. I did
not have to tell myself to “Relax” or I never got angry as much. When I got to
school, I was actually in a good mood, also.
April 11, 2009
Today I ended up getting up late
unfortunately. I had to go to work, so I got ready as fast as I could. I saw my
dairy and I decided to write in it later. But, I did keep telling myself not to
rush. I ended up getting caught by this really slow car, and so I decided to
put my aggressiveness to the test. I thought to myself that if I do not rush
then this car would be going same speed as me. But if I do rush, and then I
would probably be tailgating him. So, I decided to just go speed limit and I
kept telling myself to “relax.” And by the time I knew it, he was going down a
different route.
When I got to work, I wrote in my diary
how I stopped to think, before I reacted. I forgot to remember to get up early,
so it was my fault and I should not take it out on others who are on time and
not in a rush.
CONCLUSION
I would have to conclude that I’m
surprised that I am very focused on this makeover. I did not think I would even
last one day, but I have to say that I am proud of myself. I wanted to prove
that I can change the way I drive because I’m tired of scaring my boyfriend or
friends.
MAKEOVER #3- Affective
For this lovely makeover I decided that
I should control my feelings more when I drive. For most people, when other driver’s
cut them off they get pissed off. Well, I am part of that percentage. I want to
try and be more tolerant of other drivers, especially when they cut me off.
So, for this makeover I decided that
I’m going to try and understand why the other driver is cutting me off. I’m
going to tell myself that the driver who cut me off is just in a rush because
he is late for an important meeting. Hopefully, that won’t make me mad. I’m
going to put a penny in a cup in my cup holder every time I tell myself something
good about the drivers that cut me off.
OBSERVATION
On the way to school, there is always
traffic on the Pali. That is where it always happens; someone cuts me off
because the lane I am in is faster. I told myself do not get mad, they are just
late for an important meeting. After I told myself this, I put a penny in my
cup. It made me feel better. I felt really good, as I drove further down the
Pali, so I was cruising in my lane going speed limit. Then all of a sudden,
this driver behind me changed lanes and decided to cut me off, I guess because
I was going speed limit. At that point I was pretty mad, so I counted to ten
and told myself do not worry, he is just trying to get to school on time. When
I got to school I had two pennies in my cup. I was pretty satisfied, but it was
a close on the second incident, because I almost wanted to tail gate him. On
the way home from school, I felt the need to fill the cup with more pennies.
So, I decided to take the longer way home. I drove towards the Like Like Highway.
When I got on the Like Like Highway I
thought I was doing good going 5 mph over, but I guess other drivers thought I
was driving really slowly because a truck and a car both passed me. And this
truck that cut me off, had looked at me when he had
passed me.
I got really offended. I decided to
count to 20, and I kept telling myself he just wanted to hurry to see his
newborn baby. I just kept telling myself that, till I felt the evil feelings
disappear. The car that had cut me off just zoomed along also. For that car, I
told myself that, “Oh, he is just late to pick up his kids from practice.”
After I kept telling myself that, I felt really proud. And when I got home, I
did not feel as angry as I did before.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I learned that it is
possible to tolerate other drivers and put it in a good positive energy, making
that energy stay with you. From this make over, I learned that I should not
blame others or be angry at them, because I really do not know why they are in
a rush. For example, it could have been an emergency. But overall, I learned to
put myself in their shoes.
Part III: My Annotated Web Resources on Driving Psychology
1. Driving Behavior
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/88xx/doc8893/01-14-GasolinePrices.pdf
I
selected this site because I thought it is interesting, how something this
small can impact our driving behavior. This article is on how gas prices
affects peoples driving behavior in California. They saw that when gas prices
rose people were less likely to go out and drive, and they saw an increase in
riding the rail transit. They also stated that more and more people are
choosing to buy fuel efficient cars. Less people are buying the light trucks,
SUVs, and minivans.
http://www.behavioralandbrainfunctions.com/content/4/1/34
I
selected this article because it was interesting to read about how they did
tests to see if something in the brain causes more risk taking driving
behavior. They believed that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a
brain region, can control the way we drive safe. They used a stimulator before
and after over the left or right DLPFC and tested 24 male participants. They
found that excitation of the DLPFC on both sides can help lead to safer
driving.
2. Parking lot rage
http://www.autostalk.com/corvette/parking-lot-rage-511176.html
I
selected this site because there are people who talk about what irritates them
when they are at a parking lot like Home Depot. But then one of the person that
wrote on the site stated that whenever he sees a car parked far away he know that,
that driver wants no dings on his cars so, he parks far. But this person said
that he looks for people who park far away from him and likes to park as close
to that car as he can. I thought this was interesting because I thought that no
one would really do that, but I guess there are people that do.
http://www.bofunk.com/video/1457/parking_lot_rage.html
I selected this site
because there is a video clip that shows how people act in a parking lot rage.
This video clip is from the TV show “Malcom in the Middle.” The scenario starts
where the mother is waiting for her son in the parking lot, and a woman, parked
right next to her, comes back from the grocery store and hits her car, while
she puts her groceries inside. The lady that hit her car did not apologize, so
the mom hit her car back with her door, which starts the parking lot rage by
both women. But, in conclusion this video shows how people can get really into
their anger and forget that they are totally damaging their car.
3. Relax, why rush
http://www.ehow.com/how_2096535_relax-rush-hour-traffic.html
I chose this site
because it gives a list of ways to relax when in rush hour. One of the things I
thought was a good idea was to buy a favorite audio novel and just listen to
it. And another one I liked was bringing a snack to eat while waiting in
traffic. I think it is important to know ways to relax, so you do not get
angry.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laura-trice/relax-hour----rush-hour-w_b_178788.html
I selected this site,
because this article talks about how we stress too much when we are on the
road. We need to relax our selves, maybe like twice a day and before we drive.
She also states that maybe there should be a commuter radio that can talk to us
about what is going on, on the road, or reminding us that we all are going to
work or home and to calm down.
4. Old driving habits
I selected this article,
because I think our old habits are slowly going away. She states that because
people learned how to save gas when gas prices were high, they are now getting
rid of their habits, when gas prices went down. Because of this we are saving
our resources and not wasting them.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Driving-Us-Mad---The-Ten-Worst-Driving-Habits-Exposed&id=41522
I selected this article
because it has all the worst habits you should get rid of. Like throwing waste
out the window while you are driving, talking on the phone when it is illegal,
and tail gating cars in front of you. So, this site can be pretty important.
5. Hypermiling
I chose this site,
because it teaches you how hypermiling works. It shows all the gadgets you can use
and the methods on hypermiling.
http://www.wisebread.com/maximize-your-cars-efficiency-with-hypermiling
I selected this article
because it talks about hypermiling in detail. The procedures and why you should
do them are explained clearly.
6. Late mergers
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/apr/09/driver_fights_late_merging_ordinance/
I chose this article
because it about late mergers not being a good thing. In the article a driver
got a ticket for late merging.
http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2009/02/early_merger_to_late_merger_i.html
I selected this article
because it has people’s opinions on late merging and early merging. One of the
people was angry at the fact that the author of the article, was a late merger
and told him he was the cause of the traffic jam, but then another person
agreed that it was better to late merge because it prevents over stacking.
7. Road rage
http://www.velonews.com/article/83093
This article was
selected because it talks about how motorist and cyclists can engage in road
rage. They state a bunch of incidents that happened and also why people road
rage from Dr. James book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjZt-4-_xMc&feature=related
I chose this site,
because it is good to hear from an actual police officer, how we should avoid
people who are aggressive. That way we won’t get into angry conflict which
causes road rage. He tells you step by step how you can avoid road rage.
8. Traffic engineering
http://www.azdot.gov/Highways/Traffic/Trafeng.asp#one
I selected this article
because it is pretty detailed about what traffic engineering is. They tell you
why it is important, and why solving traffic is so hard. It talks about how
speed limits are determined and when traffic signals can actually be installed.
I selected this site,
because it talks about all the different kinds of traffic engineers. It talks
about how traffic engineers are tied to, highway engineers, transport
engineering, and urban planning.
9. Driving slow
http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/energy/drive_slow.shtml
I selected this article
because it was about a study done on driving slow. This person did a test on
slow driving and fast driving. He found that driving slow can really help save
gas and mileage than when he drove fast.
http://www.roadandtravel.com/carcare/drivetooslow.htm
I selected this article
because it talks about how people get irritated with people who drive slowly.
They state that roads have more lanes to accommodate people, who like to drive
at different speeds. People who want to drive slower are supposed to be in the
right lane, and people who want to go faster in the left lane.
10. When other drivers
cut them off
http://www.wheels.ca/Columnists/article/300314
I
selected this article because it talks about when other drivers cut them off,
you should not get mad. They are just inattentive drivers, and tell yourself that, it is the best they can do with their low
skills and do not take it personally. It also states that if you take it
personally, it would involve cops because the two drivers would engage in road
rage or aggressive driving.
I
thought this site was interesting because it shows some of the things that
cause major road rage and one of those things are cutting people off. The study was done by a survey, and they
state that nationally 44 percent cut people off. And it is extremely high in
Miami, which is 66 percent.