J Outline of My First Oral Presentation J
“Court Monitoring and Traffic Safety
from Workplace to Community”
(Joanne Jarvis and Walter Barta)
This is a presentation of Driving
Lessons: Exploring Systems That Make Traffic Safer, edited by J. Peter
Rothe. The University
of Alberta Press, 2002;
pgs. 161-192.
By Ynhu Le
Instructions for this oral presentation
are found at:
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy21/g21-oral.htm
I. Court Monitoring (An activity aimed at closely watching and
reporting on how the criminal-justice system handles Canada’s impaired drivers.)
A.
Definition and explanation:
1.
Court
monitoring (also known as court watch) is a
program designed to give citizens a powerful voice in how their courts are run.
Victims and concerned citizens were alarmed at the leniency in which drunk
drivers were treated by the criminal justice system. Volunteer citizen
activists, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), monitor DWI or Driving
While Intoxicated court cases as a purpose to 1) increase the extent to which
DWI cases are prosecuted and 2) to maximize the penalties imposed for a DWI
conviction.
2.
Volunteers monitor and record
important information about proceedings in the courtroom, or by reviewing court
records outside of the courtroom.
B.
My opinion about this concept:
1.
We should learn more about court
monitoring to see how it could help improve traffic safety.
2.
It is a very effective program
because research shows that court monitoring can increase the likelihood of
convictions, decreasing the likelihood of dismissals, and in cases of repeat
offenders, increasing the length of jail sentences.
C.
The larger psychological and cultural significance of this concept:
1.
A quote from Margaret Mead:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has”. A
community working together can have a true effect on its members. One
positive outcome would be that community pressure could influence members to
conform to social norms, such as abstaining from drinking and driving.
2.
A study conducted by Shinar (1990)
showed that the likelihood of dismissal in non-monitored cases was 11.4%,
compared to 6.1% for monitored cases; the likelihood of a guilty verdict was
87.3% for non-monitored cases versus 92.4% for monitored cases; and the average
jail term for monitored cases was 30.9 days which was 50% longer than
non-monitored cases.
3.
Several other organizations have
used the court-monitoring program in order to effect positive change in their communities.
An example would be the American Judicature Society (AJS).
D.
Related topics on the web:
II. The Costs of Traffic Safety (We’re looking at the costs associated with
traffic trauma on the macro and micro levels.)
A.
Definition and explanation:
1.
The
costs of traffic safety: There are micro-level costs or
costs that directly affect the individual and macro-level costs or costs that
affect institutions such as family, community and government. Whether an
individual is on the job, on the way to work or in the pursuit of leisure
activities, motor-vehicle trauma is a major cost to organizations and to
society alike.
2.
Organizational costs include:
lost time, sick leave, temporary worker costs, insurance costs, lower
productivity, etc. A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) in 1998 showed that American employers pay an estimated
$55 billion annually for motor-vehicle crashes and injuries on and off the job.
B.
My opinion about this concept:
1.
We should be more aware of how
much traffic trauma costs our society. I think that if we’re able to assess the
costs of traffic safety from the macro levels to the micro levels then we can
adopt better traffic-safety programs to reduce the costs of traffic safety.
2.
I think more attention should be
given to address the impact and consequences of traffic safety in areas such as
family, community, and workplace.
C.
The larger psychological and cultural significance of this concept:
1.
If we want to reduce the costs of
traffic safety, we must first learn to understand the overall interrelationships
of things. We need to use the cybernetic
approach: understanding traffic safety using an interactive process.
2.
According to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 1994, the economic cost of traffic
crashes was $150.5 billion. If we were to include other costs on the macro
levels, a more realistic cost of collisions would be around $336 billion.
D.
Related topics on the web:
III.
Mission Possible at Work (MP@W) (It is a low-cost traffic-safety program
designed to heighten traffic safety awareness both on and off the job.)
A.
Definition and explanation:
1.
Mission
Possible at Work is a low-cost program designed
to heighten traffic safety awareness in a workplace that started in Alberta, Canada.
The program addresses the importance of road trauma, both on and off the job.
2.
Awareness sessions are designed
to let employees be more aware of the consequences of traffic collisions. MP@W
also uses prevention and accommodation strategies to educate the employees how
to deal with the most common driving issues.
B.
My opinion about this concept:
1.
The MP@W is one of the successful
programs out there that promotes traffic safety information-sharing among
people in a workplace.
2.
I think the idea of implementing
a traffic-safety program at the workplace is great because the information can
reach many people at a low cost. It allows employers and employees an
opportunity to work together to create changes.
C.
The larger psychological and cultural significance of this concept:
1.
Human beings exist within a context of relationships
and communication. Therefore, traffic safety
initiatives such as the MP@W must be directed at social levels that help
include and support individual persons. [An example of child-safety programs].
2.
Participants in the MP@W program
reported that they’ve seen some improvements in their driving skills. [Provide
some examples].
D.
Related topics on the web:
My Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/409af2004/le/home.htm