Report 2:

My Understanding of Driving Psychology

By Sean Kinoshita

Instructions for this report are at:

                     http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/classhome-g21.htm

Question 3: 

Discuss these two Web sites: drivers.com vs. drdriving.org.  What are their main differences? Be sure to consider at least these areas: articles, newsletters, letters, style, probable audience, public relations or policy, advertising, size, ranking.

               First off, I would like to say that both of these web sites are great for driving information.  Let’s begin by looking at the two home pages.  In the drivers.com page, it is quite unique because there are actually two different types of drivers that they are talking about: human drivers and computer drivers.  This was rather odd because although they both share the same name, they are both totally different.  The drivers.com home page does not have too much information, rather two separate links to get to either computer drivers or human drivers.  It also has the basic information including copyrights, disclaimer, privacy policy and about us.   Drdriving.org has a more “fun” atmosphere to it.  There is a picture of Dr. James in the upper left corner.  After seeing this picture, it makes the site more fun and enjoyable to browse through.  The first thing I notice is that drdriving.org page has a lot more information on the home page vs. drivers.com.  You can tell by the size of the cursor on the right hand side of the screen.  Both sites are organized the same.  There is a site map/main menu located on the left side of the page on both pages.  Another thing that I found very helpful in any site is a search bar.  Both pages have them and they come in handy when you are looking for something specific.  Another thing that both pages have in common are the topics discussed.  The both have main issues concerning older drivers, young drivers, enforcement, etc.  Another thing that these two sites have in common is the fact that you are able to buy books on their site pertaining to driving psychology.  I think that this is very helpful because after reading all the on-line articles pertaining to driving, you (as a reader) might want to learn more, so being able to purchase a book right there on the site is very helpful. 

               Now onto the differences.  Although both sites are similar in the fact that they pertain to driving, they are on opposite sides of the spectrum when you break the sites down.  The first thing that comes to mind is that drdriving.org only pertains to driving, whereas drivers.com pertain to computer drivers and human drivers.  Another difference is the fact that drivers.com has a lot of sponsors sponsoring the site.  From truckersearch.com, to jobsintrucks.com, to drivers.drivershq.com, they cover it all.  Drdriving.org has no sponsored sites on his page.  Another thing that I noticed on drivers.com is that you can apply for a driving job online by posting up your resume.  On drdriving.com, there is also a separate page for interviews with Dr. James.  One thing I found frustrating while browsing drivers.com is that if you want to search “New drivers” or any other topic for that matter, there are a lot of different sub-categories pertaining to “New drivers”.  I also noticed that on drdriving.org, there are several links were you can test your driving personality, which would be helpful just for you to gauge yourself. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to find any type of survey on drivers.com, but came up empty handed.  I also noticed that on drivers.com there is a forum where people discuss certain topics.  However I am not too sure that the site is heavily trafficked because there seems to be only one or two posts per month. 

               All in all I think that both sites are very informative.  Both share different perspectives of driving, but conclude to the same points.  The one thing I noticed about the drivers.com site is that there are a number of articles, but they seem to be complied from different web sites.  For example there are several articles that were taken from the NY Times.  I think that drdriving.org is very well organized and there are also a lot of emails and letters that pertain to every topic.  The probable audience for both is the same, young, middle aged, and old.  The sites give information to all types of drivers.  As I stated earlier, there was a lot more advertising on drivers.com and also potential for jobs if you were willing to post your resume. 

Question 9:

Find 10 road rage newspaper stories on the Web that give enough detail that you can reconstruct enough of the interactions to do a scenario analysis of events. The Road Rage and Aggressive Driving book gives some examples (see the Index under "Scenario analysis:. There is also an example in the Lecture Notes in the Section on Charts at Table 6 -- see www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/409a-g21-lecture-notes.htm#Charts Try to reconstruct the interactions of each story by making a list or table of the steps. Apply driving psychology principles to explain what's going on and whether this is a necessary or avoidable outcome.

Article 1: http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2364940&nav=168YRRiH

This article describes what happens on almost a daily basis for most drivers.  One driver cuts off another driver, angering that driver.  So to get even the driver who was cut off speeds up to the other driver, tail gates, waives gestures, etc.  We see this all the time.  In this case however, the driver forced the other driver off the road, causing the car to crash into a tree.  This type of accident could have been prevented.  One thing drivers need to be aware of is their surroundings, including other drivers.  If you see a car in your rear view mirror speeding up, you are not going to cut directly in from of him/her.  Instead wait till the car passes, then make sure that it is clear and then cut.  Some people do not look into their mirrors and just cut.  And that is one reason why people have road rage. 

Article 2 http://www.gulflive.com/news/mississippipress/index.ssf?/base/news/110025811543570.xml

In this article, a 45 year old man was charged in the Halloween shooting of a 16 year old boy in the head following a road rage dispute.  Allegedly the boy and four of his friends cut in front of the man and ran a stop light, causing the man to swerve and almost cause an accident.  The man shot the boy shortly thereafter.  Although the article did not go into detail, the boy might have been under the influence.  Not by alcohol but by his friends.  16 years old, just got his license and taking four of his friends cruising on Halloween night.  I’ve been in situations like this where people would edge the driver to go faster or cut off the other driver.  Although they were not specific, the other driver could have curbed his anger and let it go.  This could have easily be prevented by taking a second to think things through and re-evaluating the situation. 

Article 3 http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lirage1105,0,4537095.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

This was a very dramatic story.  The driver (killer) stated that he was upset by the victim’s driving, so when he cut around the car, he noticed that the driver was sticking middle finger at him.  And he proceeded to do the same.  A few minutes later the first driver, Driver A, realized that the other driver was in back of him.  They both got out of their cars and a fight ensued.  The first driver tried to escape, but Driver B followed him to his car.  Driver A pulled out a knife and stabbed Driver B and sped off.  He knew exactly what he did and went home, changed his clothes and returned to the scene, only to see the ambulance take away the victim.  He was arrested at a shopping mall a short time later.  During the trial, Driver A stated that he should have never gotten out of his car.  He very well knew that all of this “road rage” could have been prevented.    "I'm so sorry. I was just so stupid to get out of that car."  That is why people should always think before they act.   This road rage violence could have very well been prevented.  Even the defendant knows this.

Article 4 http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=2538245

For this particular article, I think that we have all been in this type of predicament.  We get into an argument with someone and get behind the wheel of our cars and proceed to drive like maniacs.  In this case, the defendant said that he got into an argument with a girl at a night club and began to speed as he got onto the highway.  Not only was he intoxicated, but he was also doing 90-100 MPH before he hit the back of a stopped van, killing the driver.  For one thing, this accident could have been prevented if the driver had a designated driver.  It could have also been prevented if he let out his frustration and anger before sitting behind the wheel of his car.  For his crime, the man received 38 years behind bars.

Article 5    http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/10172004/news/43425.htm

This article was not about one specific road rage incident, but a number of incidents that occurred in New Hampshire.  According to the article, there were a number of incidents in which people put their lives as well as lives of others at risk.  The most recent incident occurred when a mother was driving her car on the wrong side of the road, passing cars in a no passing zone and speeding.  But the worst part is that she had a 14 month old child in the back seat.  Things have gotten so bad in New Hampshire that they actually have a State Police Aggressive Driving Unit.  The task of this unit is to go out and locate people who are driving recklessly.  I think that this is a very good idea, especially here in Hawaii.  There are a lot of crazy drivers who tailgate and speed and there never seems to be any police around monitoring this type of behavior.  I think that a task force such as this is a very good idea.

Article 6 http://www.krqe.com/expanded1.asp?RECORD_KEY[BigLocal]=ID&ID[BigLocal]=7306

This is another compelling road rage incident.  The driver of a van was apparently taking too long at a stop sign, so the driver of the other car (along with 3 other passengers, including a 1 year old baby), got into an altercation with the driver of the van.  The car sped off, only to make an abrupt U turn and return to where the man was standing and open fire at him.  What was also unbelievable was that the man with the van was standing right outside of an elementary school.  These 18 year old men were later found and arrested.  This is obviously an avoidable outcome.  The18 year old men did not have to turn around and open fire at the man in the van.  They could have left the situation alone, but they were stubborn and turned around and shot at him.  They did not only endanger the man, but also the children at the elementary school.

 Article 7 http://portage.scwn.com/articles/2004/11/10/news/news4.txt

This incident happened as one driver observed another driver tailgating him.  The driver in the front gestured to the other driver to pass him.  As the rear driver passed him, he noticed the first driver making obscene gestures.  They both pulled over and a fight ensued.  The driver that was in the back punched the other driver, sending him to the ground.  He fled the scene and was later arrested.  The other man suffered bruises, cuts, and a broken leg that was surgically repaired with pins and rods.  The defendant was asked to pay a fine but was not sentenced to any jail time. 

Article 8 http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-24/110010540669110.xml

In this specific article, there was not too much detail.  The driver of one car noticed that two men in a Cadillac were making rude gestures at him and tried to cut him off.  The driver pulled into a small parking lot, and the other driver pulled out a pistol and fired a single shot at the victim, hitting the car.  In this case, the details were a little slim.  But there is one thing that I would have done if I was the victim.  I would not have gone into a small parking lot, but rather a large parking lot were there would be a lot more witnesses.  Or another suggestion would be go directly to a police station.

Article 9 http://www2.townonline.com/littleton/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=122579

In this article two men were charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.  Apparently the victim was stopped at a red light when two men approached his car screaming and yelling at the man to get out of his car.  The two men brandished a pipe and wailed it over their heads.  Worried that the men might kill him, the driver fled.  What was also very interesting about this story was the fact that the defendants were driving a commercial truck.  They were obviously not worried about their company’s reputation because of their actions.  But I think that the victim obviously made the right decision by fleeing the scene instead of getting beaten up.

Article 10 http://www.kirotv.com/traffic/3908163/detail.html

This is an article of a crazy woman who sought revenge against her boyfriend.  The woman allegedly spotted her boyfriends car at 6:30 in the morning.  Seeing his car, she used her car to ram the side of his car, forcing him off the road.  When she got out of the car, she realized that that was not her boyfriend, but rather a volunteer firefighter.  She had mistaken her ex-boyfriend’s 1988 Chevy Spectrum, for the victim’s 1987 Chevy Sprint.  She was charged with vehicular assault.  This was almost funny when I read it.  I am sure that she will look twice before hitting anyone else’s car. 

After reading all of these articles, I came to the conclusion that every accident could have been prevented.  Many of the drivers involved in these accidents/road rage incidents wished that they never got out of their car.  This is a major reason why many people not only get into fights but sometimes even death occurs.  Another thing that I realized not only in the articles, but also in real life experiences is that having other people in the car can make the driver a little more agitated (not all the time), and create greater risk taking, vs. someone who was driving alone.  In any event, drivers need to realize what the consequences of their actions may be if the other person is injured.  Many drivers realize what happened after the fact and then think to themselves that they should have done it otherwise.  I know that it may be hard when you are in the heat of the moment to stop and focus, but just think about the greater picture. 

Question 5:

Consider Table 5 in the Lecture Notes, in the Section on Driving Psychology Theory and Charts at  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/409a-g21-lecture-notes.htm#Charts  Consult the article from which the Table was taken. Copy and paste the table into your file. Now delete the examples in each cell and replace them with your own examples that you make up. Discuss why driving is such a big problem in all societies and why no effective solutions have yet been found for them. Discuss the solutions offered by Dr. Leon James (DrDriving). What likelihood is there that his approach will be adopted? Explain.

I think that driving is such a big problem because everyone has their own different style of driving.  No one drives exactly the same as the other drivers on the road, and to each driver, he/she is the ideal driver, everyone else is wrong.  Another thing is that every driver on the road has learned to drive from different people.  If your parents were aggressive drivers while you were growing up, most likely you will become an aggressive driver and copy their driving tactics.  I think that high schools as well as universities should teach students the importance of road safety and to learn to curb their anger when behind the wheel.  I also feel that driving is such a big problem because many people do it second nature.  We do not think of the consequences when we get behind the wheel.  Most of us think about the quickest and fastest way to our destination.  We do not think about the potential dangers that are ahead. 

I think that the solutions adopted by Dr. James are great ideas.  Many of them I practice myself.  But me alone will not change our driving conditions on the road.  People need to take the time and do it themselves. One example is the log.  Not many of us have the time to write down what mistakes we make when driving.  Many of us do not even want to admit that we are wrong.  But I think that the biggest help would be the media.  Everyone watches television and listens to the radio.  If stations played messages or commercials showing the consequences of reckless driving, I think that the response would be overwhelmingly positive.  I think another good idea would be to have someone else ride in the car with the driver and have a separate analysis.  That way the study would not be biased and there would be a different perspective, one that the driver would not be able to see.

Question 7:

Our textbook Road Rage and Aggressive Driving has exercises in several chapters. Do the following four exercises: (a) Exercise on scenario analysis on p. 205; (b) Exercise on acting as-if on p.128; (c) Exercise on self-assessment on p. 134; and (d) Checklist of your road rage tendency on p. 40. What were your reactions to the exercises? Discuss how these exercises help you to become more aware of yourself as a driver. Do some of the exercises with another driver you know. How do they help you understand some principles of driving psychology?

Exercise p. 205

1.  I think that this type of behavior contributed to the trouble because the two boys were driving in tandem.  This can potentially cause other drivers to be agitated, especially when there are two drivers that are driving in separate cars.  I think that the smarter alternative would be to drive in the same car instead of driving two separate cars.  That way one friend would not have to worry about his other friend who does not know his way around town.

2.  Driving almost at midnight was a bad idea also.  My grandparents always tell me that the bad people come out at night.  And I find this to be true, especially on the highways.  People are always driving recklessly because there are not too many cars on the road during that hour.  So when the boys were driving this late, they can almost expect something like this to happen.  I do not know what would have been the smarter decision…maybe staying home?

3.  Driving around because the boy lost the address was a pretty stupid thing to do.  The reasonable thing to do would be to call his friend and ask for directions to his house.  But the boys continued to drive around hoping that they would find the house.  This contributes to trouble because driving around with no direction can cause some people to travel into the wrong neighborhood.  This may cause a potential problem, especially in a gang related neighborhood.  Like I said, the smarter thing to do would be to call a friend and ask for directions.

4.  This was another stupid move that this 16 year old boy did.  He was in the fast lane, to be next to his friend.  This was not smart because first of all, his friend had no idea where he was going, and secondly I am pretty sure that his friend was not traveling too fast, so that meant that the boy in the left lane must have been going pretty slowly.  This was not a very smart idea.  I think the sensible thing to do would be to get in front of his friend and let his friend follow him.  Also I would be in the slow (right or center) lane vs. being in the fast lane holding up traffic.

5.  Because he was blocking the left lane, the SUV had no choice but to cut behind his friend and begin to tailgate him.  Again, this was the consequence for holding up the left hand lane.

6.  They thought that the driver was gone, but he actually wasn’t.  This was very serious because when they thought the driver was gone, they might have went back to driving in the left hand lane, holding up traffic.  The boy was down playing the situation and thought that the other driver had left.  The situation to this problem would be to check the rear view mirrors and make sure that the person is actually gone. 

7.  This was very stupid.  After driving in the left and center lane holding up traffic, and pissing off the SUV owner, the boys decide to pass the SUV in the left hand lane.  This would only provoke the SUV owner in which case it did.  I think that they should have just stayed behind the SUV the entire time.

8.  In this situation, the boys provoke the driver of the SUV and find it funny that the SUV owner is now behind them.  This contributes to the trouble because now the boys see this as being a game and thinking it was funny.  The smarter behavior actually should have begun a long time ago.  They should not have passed the SUV owner in the left hand lane.

9.  Again they think that this is a game and begin to slow down, agitating the SUV owner.  This was not a smart idea and contributed to the owner pulling out a gun.  The smarter thing to do would be to take up only one lane and drive at least the speed limit, not slow down and agitate the other driver.

10.  There were a lot of things that were wrong with this statement.  First off they tried to get away from the driver.  This included swerving through traffic going 90 MPH.  Secondly they put everyone else’s lives in danger.  The smarter thing would be to drive the speed limit, or pull off into a heavily populated area where there would be a lot of witnesses.

11.  The two boys were not the only ones on the road that night.  By flashing his lights and honking his horn, the driver not only got the attention of his friend, but the attention of other drivers.  Like I stated earlier, the smarter thing to do would be to get ahead of his friend so he would be able to lead rater than  be on the side of his friend.

12.  The driver tried to blame the SUV owner by saying that he did something illegal and could have caused an accident.  I think that these boys also do not realize that their reckless driving was the one that provoked the other driver to act the way he did.  Also they were driving in the same manner as the other driver.

13. This statement was right.  They did do something stupid.  I do not agree with the rest of the statement however.  The boys blame the driver as being an adult and he was the one who was making it into a battle.  I think what started this was the fact that the two boys were hogging up both left and center lane.  This was what started the whole fire.  And I think that they added to the fire when the began to slow down and saw the whole thing turn into a joke.

Exercise p. 128

This exercise was a very challenging one.  I usually try to be in a happy mood whenever I get behind the wheel.  But there always seem to be “stupid drivers” out there.  It is as if their mission is to piss off other drivers.  But I did give this exercise a chance and for the most part it did work.  When there was a slow moving vehicle in front of me, I stated, “Hey there is no rush, take your time.”  After saying this, I would kindly put on my signal and cut around the vehicle.  This worked for the most part, but there was one car that was obviously driving way too slow.  He must have been going 25 MPH (at the most) in a 45 MPH speed zone.  To me I think that these types of people can cause a serious accident if the are not going fast enough.  Everyone else is going 50-60 MPH and here is a person going half of that.  He was going slower than the bus.  So in that instance I  was kind of agitated and gave a glare as I cut over.  And the funny thing is that everyone who cut over was staring at this man, but he obviously had no idea how much traffic he was causing.  One thing that I learned to do after this exercise is not to run yellow lights.  Before this exercise, I would run them at every chance I got.  I would even speed up a ¼ mile away from the light.  I know that this was probably not a good idea, but I have since corrected it.  I actually timed most of the lights to see how much time I was losing and the average was app. 2 minutes per light.  When you think about it 2 minutes is not that long.  It was worth the wait vs. getting a ticket.  This was a very important exercise and it taught me to become a better driver. 

Exercise p. 134

This was a very interesting topic.  For me, my best driving traits would have to include the following: always signaling, constantly aware of other drivers (checking my mirrors, etc), do not excessively speed, always let other drivers cut in front of me, and thanking other drivers when they let me in.  My bad driving traits include the following: swearing at driver (not directly at them), staring at other drivers when they are driving “stupidly”, and running yellow lights.  According to my girlfriend who always rides with me, my good driving habits include: “he’s always aware of other cars, he is very attentive, always thanks other people, and is courteous in letting other drivers in”.  And according to her my bad habits include the following statement: “swears too much at other drivers and overreacts at the situation, although sometime the other drivers are driving like idiots.”

After reading her list and comparing it to my list, it seems to be pretty similar.  I usually “see myself” as I drive.  I know a lot of drivers do not know what they are doing, but for the most part I am aware of my actions. 

Exercise p. 40

For question 1 I think that I do swear a lot more in traffic than I do anywhere else because for the most part only I can hear myself swearing vs. someone else hearing me.  I always have critical thoughts about other drivers who are driving stupidly.  Even when I see an old person driving slowly, most people would be like “Oh, its okay because they are old”, but for me I see it as “Damn what is this person still doing driving, he/she should be catching the bus.”  For question 3 no one has ever stolen my parking space, but I could only imagine how furious I would become.  I do not tend to fantasize about violence towards other drivers.  For question 5 I have only got aggressive a few times.  First I would make sure that incase we did get into a confrontation, that I would be able to kick that person’s ass, or at least have a friend with me incase I was getting my ass kicked.  I agree that it is a good idea to let out all our pent up stress and anger.  For question 7 I usually do not speed when I am upset.  I know that this will not solve anything.  For question 8, I totally agree that drivers should behave on the highway.  For question 9, I hate when this happens, especially when I am the last car in line waiting for the pedestrians to cross.  As a pedestrian, I always try to walk a little faster when I see cars are being backed up.  For question 10, I only bad mouth other drivers in my own car.  The sound of my voice does not leave the interior of my car.  I do not tailgate, but rater cut lanes and give the slow driver “the look”.  As for question 12, I usually do not set a specific time I try to get from point a to point b, so I usually do not speed.  For question 13, I just try to drive like everyone else.  If everyone else is speeding, then I am going to speed.  I don’t want to be left behind.  For question 14, the only reason I would get pissed is if I am coming to a stop light (and I am the first car) and a person cuts right in front of me just to be the first car.  I hate that.  For question 15, I do not feel any power when I drive aggressively.  For question 16, I think we all hate speed bumps, but we must respect them because they are there for a reason.  But I think speed limits are useless because no one ever travels the speed limit.  For question 17, every time I am stuck in traffic, there is no room to be driving recklessly.  For question 18, I always drive around big trucks.  For question 19, I try to keep up with traffic, so if they are speeding or tail gating me, of course I will drive faster.  I do not feel uncomfortable driving at high speeds anyway.  For the last question I do not feel embarrassed if I get stuck behind a truck going up a steep hill.  I know that there is nothing I can do about that. 

I think that these exercises were very helpful and it helped me become a better driver.  I no longer run yellow lights.  Also I try not to get angry at other drivers if they are driving too slowly or are cutting back and fourth between lanes.  I think that these exercises can be very helpful to everyone.  As long as they follow it and give it a chance, I think that it will help people become better drivers, even if it is just a little better. 

Question 4:

Select six student reports on driving psychology from Generation 20, as listed in the Readings Section of the Lecture Notes. www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/409a-g21-lecture-notes.htm#g20-reports  You must select any two students from Report 1, any two from Report 2, and any two from Report 3. Summarize each of the six reports. Add a General Conclusion Section in which you discuss your reactions to what they did – (a) their ideas, (b) their method, (c) their explanations. What did they gain from doing their reports? How do their ideas influence what you yourself think about these issues?

Report1 Group 1http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/phillips/report1.htm

This was a report done by Sarah Phillips in generation 20. She begins by briefly explaining what the course is about and what she hopes to get out of the course.  She goes into detail by defining the driver’s three fold self, self witnessing method, road rage, aggressive driving legislation, etc.  Her autobiographical section is very interesting.  Sarah seems to be a very calm person.  She comments on how her parents have a big affect on the way she drives.  When she is with her father, they both blast the stereo, and drive fast, but when she is with her mother, she always takes extra precautions even though she knows her mother will comment on something.  To sum it up, Sarah seems to be a relatively good driver.  Sarah believes that the activity helped her to analyze herself as a driver and realize things that she had not seen before.  She recommends to future generations to stay on top of your work and recommends talking to classmates for advice.  I think that Sarah has some very helpful information that we can all learn upon.

Report 2 Group 1   http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/sayo/report1.htm

The report done by Sayo is very interesting.  The first sentence automatically caught my attention and is very important.   “In the first day of class for my driving psychology course, professor James informed us that there are more than 40,000 deaths per year, 6 million crash injuries per year, 100 billion aggressive driving exchanges per day and an unknown number of human suffering caused by driving stress.”  I thought that this was very important because Dr. James also stress these numbers in our class.  One thing that is different from Sarah’s report is that Sayo does not have her driver’s license, so she took the class in a passenger’s perspective.  She has a very interesting table about the 3 fold self with some cool pictures.  Just like Sarah, Sayo has brief definitions concerning the three fold self, self realization, etc.  She also has a long list of some things that she considers road rage.  In her autobiographical section, Sayo explains how her parents have an influence on her even though she does not have her license.  They teach her things such as using her blinker, thanking people, etc. She brings up many good points as a courteous passenger.  She always buckles up, and tries to help the driver in any way she can: checking to make sure the other lane is clear, and checking mirrors, etc.  According to Sayo, this assignment has taught her to identify her personality as a passenger.  She also recommends talking to other students as well as finding articles and magazines concerning driving.  I think that Sayo’s report was very different from all the other reports.  For one thing she is seeing things in a passenger’s perspective.  Many of us do drive and we often take it for granted and do not see it through the eyes of the passenger.  This was a very helpful report and I think that because Sayo has talked about how she sees it from a passenger’s perspective, I think that I may also see things differently.

Report 3 Group 2  http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/fukushima/report2.htm

This report done by Ikue was very interesting.  She too does not have her driver’s license, so she did the test on her boyfriend.  After reading the report, I came to the conclusion that her boyfriend is a rude, racist who does not drive.  She quoted him calling tourists in Waikiki “Japs”. But then again Ikue must be pretty stupid also to have a retarded boyfriend who is not only making derogatory statements at people he does not know, but also to his girlfriend.  In one experiment, every time her boyfriend would swear, she would slap a rubber band that was around his wrist.  Instead of taking it like a man and accepting the fact that he is mistaken for swearing, he was crying like a bitch, swearing at his girlfriend, “Fuck! That hurts!”  I think that this couple has more issues than the boyfriend’s driving.  I think the boyfriend may need some serious counseling.  But after all the experiments, according to Ikue her boyfriend’s attitude changed and he began to swear less. The one thing that troubled her was the fact that her boyfriend became lazy and didn’t want to fill out the reports.  I think that this is very helpful because sometimes negative reinforcement helps the situation.  I personally would not do that to my girlfriend.

Report 4 Group 2    http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/arakaki/report2.htm

After reading Jenny’s report, she seems to be a very aggressive driver.  She answered yes to 12 out of 20 questions.  The experiment that Jenny did consisted of her recording her voice while she drove.  She was able to play the tape back at any time and analyze what thoughts were running through her head at that time.  According to Jenny she broke the law quite often.  She would speed and was reckless especially on Fridays and during the afternoon when there was less traffic on the road.  She says that the experiment was very helpful and most of the time helped reduce her aggressive acts.  However she says that sometimes it did go up.  To me that is obviously understandable because it depends on the situation and not every situation on the road is equally the same.  After reading her report I find myself questioning my own driving abilities and wonder how many people like Jenny are on the road, potentially road raging.

Report 5 Group 3  http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/chang/report%203.htm

The report done by Jesse Chang was very interesting.  After reading her report, I came to the conclusion that she is a very cautious driver and takes many precautions.  She talked about other people’s presentations. One thing I liked was her proposal for life long driver education.  One interesting topic in the infancy stage was that new parents should be handed a pamphlet concerning road rage nursery.  This has to do with the issue of parents swearing while their infant is in the car and how they should learn to curb their anger and frustration.  During the toddler stage she talks about setting good examples for the child to follow.  I agree with this because at this age many children mimic what they see others doing.  During the early childhood, communication is the key.  It is very important to not scold the child, but rather speak to them in a soft manner and explain how the situation could have been handled differently.  During middle childhood, most children can comprehend differences between passengers, bicyclists, drivers, etc.  At this stage it is very important to let the children know that it is wrong for them to verbalize negative opinions at others and have them realize what type of consequences may occur because of their actions.  During adolescent years, Jesse thinks that every high school should have some type of driving course that is taught by an HPD officer.  I agree that we should teach driving lessons in high school because most of us will end up driving for the rest of our lives, or at least until we are physically and mentally capable of driving.  However I disagree with the HPD teaching driving.  At most they might go over the laws concerning driving, but I do not feel HPD is the correct department to be teaching people how to drive.  Most police drivers drive like maniacs anyways.  Just because they have a blue light, I think that most of them feel that it is okay to break the law, which is wrong.  Jesse goes on to explain how people of Hawaii are extroverts and that could cause serious problems concerning road rage.  I agree that people of Hawaii are extroverts, but that does not mean that just because they are means that this is a mixture for road rage.  Many other “mainland” people come to the islands and show no aloha while driving.  Although nothing can be done about this, I think that people need to respect other drivers and look out for others.  Jesse was the only one who pledged to do her part in reducing aggressive driving. 

Report 6 Group 3  http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409as2004/kubo/report3.htm

Jeremy’s report was very interesting.  Just like Jesse’s report, Jeremy described the exact same things including his opinions on other classmate’s speeches.  In his life long proposal for driving, Jeremy had a few good points.  During his infancy stage, Jeremy said that things such as sharing (road ways) should be taught as well as not being too aggressive.  But his biggest point was to teach the children that driving should be an enjoyable experience, not a horrific one.  During his second phase, Jeremy says that we should teach children the effects of an accident, who is wrong, what was the driver doing wrong, what happened right before the accident, etc.  All very good points.  At this age, the children are only a few years away from getting their license, so they should be aware and know what is going on.  I think that Jeremy has the right ideas, but he was not specific on who should be teaching driver’s education and what programs we need to implement to become safer drivers.  I agree that driving should be an enjoyable experience and that it should be enjoyed by all. 

Advice to Future Generations

Good Luck!  Make sure that you know what topics you are going to research.  It helps to look over every option first then make a decision.  I thought I would do the first five, but everyone has their own different task.  Just find the ones that suit you.  In order to succeed in this class do not wait till the last minute to get things done.  It is easy if you follow everything and get it done on time.  I think that the one thing you can get out of this class is the most important: learning to become a better and more aware driver.  Half the semester has passed and I find myself improving every time I get behind the wheel.

Class Home Page:  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/classhome-g21.htm

My Home Page:  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409af2004/Kinoshita/home.htm