Report
1
Driving
Psychology: Theory and Application
By: Jeremy Kubo
1.
Preface
In this course, we are focusing on the
skills needed to improve upon one’s own driving. By examining specific situations and behaviors that can lead to
bad habits, for example, we can not only help ourselves, but others as well, to
become a better driver. We explore many
incidences of driving psychology and thus will be able to better understand the
driving world. I think it is important
and historical and yet at the same time, frightening, to be a part of
Generation 20. It is amazing how many
generations before me have studied driving psychology and how each generation
grew with all the new, incoming information.
Each generation builds upon the previous ones, each sharing their own
personal views, thoughts and experiences, allowing all of us to share in the
process of helping others and ourselves to become better drivers. I am proud to be a part of this current
generation, hoping that with each new piece of information I learn and share, I
will be able to be an asset to the future generations. I feel I have an important responsibility to
these people and I will try my best to succeed. The great thing about all of this is, we all have access to this,
seeming to never end world of driving psychology, all at the touch of our
fingertips. Anyone wanting to learn
about this topic will come across the initial site and have a wide variety of
information without ever having to leave their home.
After surfing the generational curriculum, I
came across three reports that I found to be very interesting and quite
relevant to the topic of driving psychology.
I felt it was very important to mention a report from generation 1. After all, they are the pioneers of it and
each generation on looks back at them and appreciates what they started. Caroline Balatico’s report
discusses what she felt were the most meaningful and interesting ideas about
traffic psychology, just from the first few weeks of the course. They are, how people are always rushing
around, how there are certain similarities between pedestrian traffic and road
traffic, and the importance of the emotional state of the driver. All three of these, I agree, are very
important in their own way. People are
always on the go. A lot of people don’t
think they have the time to stop and smell the roses. They need to be at a certain place at a specific time, so they’ll
make sure they get there, when they have to, not taking any precautions and
rush and speed if they need to. Though
situations with pedestrian traffic and road traffic seem to be quite similar
and cautious actions may be necessary, an accident with a car and
another car and an accident with a pedestrian and another pedestrian,
are very different. The emotional state
of a driver is very important. That has
a huge impact on how a driver will drive.
It is crucial to examine that before getting behind the wheel.
Another report I came across while surfing,
was from generation 6. Chris Murakami
discusses in his report
his own definition of traffic psychology and five others from previous
generations, the three domains of driving behavior and why traffic psychology
is so important. It’s interesting to
see how six different people from different generations define traffic
psychology as how they understood it—all from the same Instructor. The three domains of traffic psychology are
the Affective, the Cognitive, and the Sensorimotor. Being able to understand what a person is feeling, thinking and
doing while driving are an important aspect to this field of driving
psychology. As our instructor, Dr. Leon
James, states, “Driving is a social activity”.
This is very true. Being able to
communicate is the key to a peaceful and safe driving environment. However, getting everyone to be able to
communicate at that same level is the real challenge here.
The third report I found to be interesting
was Mike Silva’s report
from generation 8. He discusses the
behavior of tailgating and whether or not it is fair or unfair. He takes a look at the moral implications of
tailgating and even performs his own study by allowing himself to be tailgated
and tailgated someone else. I found his
observations to be relatable. I, too,
at times, notice my own tailgating experiences and when they seem to most often
occur. Though, yes I can admit that I
do on occasion tailgate, I think the whole concept is indeed unfair. It is unfair not only to the two cars
involved in the tailgating, but all the surrounding cars as well. It puts pressure on the motorists passing by
and the ones already ahead. I feel Mike
Silva gave a good report on the topic of tailgating and I’m sure it will help
others who come across it. All in all,
the three reports I explored were great.
They intrigued, they informed and they did their job. I thought it was interesting to take note
how all the web pages changed over the years of generations. As technology improved, so did the quality
and design of the reports, which was quite evident.
2.
Introduction
The topic of this course is Driving
Psychology. I believe the purpose of
this course is to be able to understand the basic foundations of driving
psychology, so that I can become a better driver, both offensively and
defensively. Also, this course’s goal,
as my understanding, is to spread the knowledge I learn to others, so that we
can help create a safer driving environment.
We will learn about different psychological aspects that will affect our
driving and to be able to take those aspects and apply them to ourselves and
our own driving. I am quite involved in
this topic. Loved ones criticize my
driving all the time and I want to be able to go deep and find what I can do to
improve my driving for my own self satisfaction and theirs as well. Driving psychology is a meaningful topic for
me right now, especially with all the recent accidents resulting in death that
had occurred, one of which was a close friend of mine. Hopefully, by taking this course, I will be
able to eliminate my bad habits that make others in the car with me, and those
on the road beside me, nervous.
3.
Definitions
i.
The driver’s threefold self – According to Dr. James, in his Introduction:
The Driver's Threefold Self, this term refers to three different
areas of behavior, which work together in creating the driver’s self. The three domains are: affective, cognitive
and sensorimotor. The affective self
controls the feeling aspect. How does
it make you feel when she tailgates you?
The cognitive self controls the thinking aspect. Should I switch lanes, wave her by, or give
her the finger? The sensorimotor self
controls the action aspect. Now I will
decide which action to take. This is
all done in relation of being behind the wheel.
ii.
Self-witnessing methodology – Dr. James and Dr. Nahl have created
a three-step program, which will help drivers become more emotionally stable
when on the road. The three steps
include acknowledging, witnessing and modifying. In their book, Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving (Chapter 6, pp.
133-134), they describe self-witnessing as being your own witness. Observe yourself as you drive. Record your behavior and notice your
threefold self—what are you feeling, thinking and doing. Pay attention to how and when you get aggressive
and the type of road rage you are performing.
The next time I get into my car, I can tape record myself speaking my
thoughts out loud and analyze it later to get a better picture of how I am
behind the wheel.
iii.
Road rage – According to Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving (Chapter 1, pg. 22),
Dr. James and Dr. Nahl state there is no real agreed-upon definition for this
term. However, when speaking of road
rage, it can be defined as an angered reaction to an upsetting situation
occurring on the road, that can lead to aggressive behavior by use of words,
gestures and even violent actions. If
someone were to cut me off, I could experience road rage by changing to the
lane beside him and yell at him and then cut him off.
iv.
Aggressive driving legislation – This term, according to Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving (Chapter 10, pp.
228-231), is described as an attempt to reduce the amount of aggressive drivers
all over the US. Each state proposes
their own bills but have commonalties like the definition of the offenses and
the increasing harshness if the offense is repeated. An example in Washington proposes a bill that the offensive act
must be committed two or more times within five miles before it can be
considered an offense.
v.
The driver’s emotional intelligence – Bridget Antonio of
generation 16, defines this term in her report,
as being able to admit and explain our current state of emotion, which will
then lead us to a calm and optimistic position, where we can assess the
situation rationally and act in a non-aggressive manner. If I was minding my own business and some
guy comes behind me, starts tailgating me and drives around and yells at me as
he passes by, and I can assess the situation calmly and accept what had just
happened and let it go, I would be experiencing emotional intelligence.
vi.
The driver’s emotional spin cycle – According to Sunshine of
generation 16, in her report,
she explains how this term involves the threefold self, the four options and
the two bridges. The threefold self
contributes to the way we cope with our emotional spin cycle. The four options are Positive about Self,
Negative about Self, Positive about others/world, and Negative about others/world. These are what we use to observe out daily
emotional spin cycle. By being able to
identify which option best suits the situation, it helps to identify which
bridge to take. There is a red bridge
and a blue bridge. The former is a
bridge between yourself and others and the latter is a bridge within
yourself. Through this cycle, we will
be able to learn to change our way of thinking and act in a positive manner in
situations where we would normally be aggressive.
vii.
Newsgroups for drivers – Kendra Morgan of generation 5, describes
the term newsgroup in her report,
as a place on the internet where people can discuss a topic that interests
them. People post questions, answers
other’s questions, and share their comments.
Newsgroups for drivers would be a newsgroup where the topic is about
driving.
viii.
Lifelong driver education – According to our textbook, Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving (Chapter 9), the term
is defined as continuously educating and informing people from the early ages
of pre-school up until the elderly.
This is not restricted to just the physical aspects of driving, but the
whole emotional state as well.
ix.
Jekyll-Hyde syndrome – This term is defined as becoming a
different person behind the wheel, according to Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving (Chapter 4, pp.
84-85). Your once friendly, shy and
sweet girlfriend transforms into a nightmare when she gets behind the wheel,
like she’s a total different person.
Her personality changes. It was
as if you never knew her.
x.
Automotive vigilante – According to Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving (Chapter 4, pp.
97-99), this term describes the motorist who takes pleasure out of hounding
other motorists. They are the bullies
of the roads. It’s someone who comes by
yelling, making obscene gestures, honking either at any random person or
someone they’ve singled out for whatever reason. They self-appoint themselves as cops, going around being the
judge, jury and executioner.
4.
Autobiographical
I think I’m a pretty decent driver. Sure on occasion, when I get stuck behind a
slow driver, I want to get around. I
don’t really think that’s a bad thing.
The person in front of me, I believe, is the real danger to the road and
the other motorists driving near them.
They’re usually going slower than the speed limit or they may be going
just at speed limit, but the flow of traffic is going a few miles faster. They would be the real cause of an accident,
especially on a highway or freeway where the speed limits are much higher. If someone’s coming around a turn at speed
limit, and they don’t see that extra slow driver riding their brakes, they
might not have enough time to slow down before crashing into them.
I can apply the trigger theory of road rage
to myself on numerous occasions. On
one event, I was driving along calmly, going up the Pali, behind a black Honda
civic. An elderly woman was behind the
wheel with her husband in the passenger seat.
She was driving normally at a reasonable speed, a few miles maybe above
the limit in the fast lane, when all of a sudden we reach the end of the
residential area, where the speed limit goes up by 10 miles, and the woman
decides to slow down because she starts talking to her husband. Naturally, I’m shocked. I want to get around her, but now we’re
going slower than we were when we were in the residential area and I can’t get
enough speed to get to the other lane where all the other cars are zooming
by. I’m literally stuck behind her for
10 minutes until a space finally opens up in the lane next to me. By now, I’m upset. I would’ve been home already.
I had a long day at school and work.
I missed lunch. I just want to
get home, take a shower, eat and get to bed.
But this lady completely messed up my plans, thus triggering my road
rage. Instead of just letting the event
pass me by and getting myself home calmly, I zoom pass her and get back into
her lane in front of her. I then decide
to slowly let my foot off the gas pedal causing the woman to have to go even
slower. “She provoked me. I couldn’t help it. She deserved it.” She wanted to screw up my plans, so I figured why not mess up
hers. I smirked as I saw her in my
rear-view mirror, looking irritated. I
enjoyed it for a while, but then I realized I was pissing all the other people
behind us off, as well.
When I first got my license, my parents got
me a car. They told me now that I can
drive, I can take myself wherever I needed to go, without having to depend on
them. But, they always told me, if I
get into an accident or if I get any kind of ticket, then that’s it. I would have to start paying for my own
insurance and the up keeping of the car, and if I wanted a new one, then I
would have to pay for it myself. That,
of course, made me a little cautious, at first. I was only 16. I didn’t
have a job. I could barely pay for gas
on allowance—how would I pay for a ticket??
So, naturally I took precautions.
I was a very safe driver—at first.
Then, I got a job. I got into
fixing up my car and the whole hype of racing and the thrill of going
fast. I could now afford to buy things
for my car that would make it look good, sound good, run good, and of course,
go faster. I wasn’t really into street
racing, though. I would take it to the
tracks and do it legally. But knowing
that now my car could reach places a little faster, if I would be running late
one morning, I did find myself pushing that pedal just a little harder if I
really needed to. My parents trust
me. They want me to be safe and the
other passengers I drive around to be safe also. They think I’m a safe driver, although on some rare occasions, I
do catch my dad hanging on to the door handle, scared for his life—he gets a
little over reactive at times.
The media plays somewhat of a role in my
driving. When I watch the news and I
hear about accidents resulting in death of people racing around on the streets,
the freeways and the highways, my guard gets up a little. I have to be more defensive when I drive,
preparing for the worst. I don’t want
to be an innocent victim of the street racer’s moment of fun. I stay at home those early hours of the
morning when most street racers are out—causing accidents, creating havoc and
closing freeways for the early morning rush.
It usually sticks with me for a few days and I do become extra
cautious. But, then after a few days,
I’m back to my normal self.
Currently, I still think of myself as a
pretty decent driver—far from perfect, but surely decent. I recently had a daughter and with her in
the car, I become extra cautious. I
never use my cell phone while I’m driving with her. I drive a little slower, so I keep to the right on the freeways
and highways. Every now and then I do
experience a little road rage when another motorist upsets me because they cut
me off or are driving too slow and I get a strong urge to want to get them back
and express my anger verbally. Now,
with my daughter, I catch myself. I
don’t want her growing up to be an aggressive driver because she will pick up
on these things, even this early in life.
I use verbal rewards for my daughter and tell her what a good passenger
she was. She smiles back. She may be only 4 months old, but I know she
understands me and will appreciate the beneficial values I’ve begun teaching
her at this young age. I want to be a
role model for my children. And I know,
when they start driving, I don’t want to be hanging on for dear life when
they’re behind the wheel.
5.
Conclusion
Taking this course and doing this report has
really helped me reexamine my own driving style. After researching all the different definitions and preparing for
my oral presentation on a chapter in our textbook, Road Rage and Aggressive
Driving, by Leon James and Diane Nahl, I have taken a new
perspective and outlook on driving in general.
I think I’m beginning to get a deeper understanding now of what driving
psychology is all about. I’m more aware
and conscious now of what I’m doing as I’m driving—what I’m thinking, what I’m
feeling, what I’m saying. I react
differently in situations now, where before I wouldn’t even think twice
about. I notice and acknowledge the
driving styles of others as I’m the passenger and make subtle and observant,
yet informative and constructive comments.
I think being more aware of my driving personality is useful because I’m
helping to create a safer and better environment. I’m becoming a better driver.
I believe this approach does indeed have a significant impact on the
future of driving in our society. If we
are all able to think, feel and do at the same level—we will all be living and
driving in a very peaceful environment.
Road rage would be a term no longer in existence. Everyone would have the aloha spirit allowing
others to cut in calmly, thanking and shaka-ing those motorists, no one would
be in a rush, traffic would be smooth.
If we all are able to communicate at this same level, the driving world
would be serene.
6.
Future Generations
My advice to the future generations: Plan
ahead. Don’t procrastinate. Take the time to read through all the
previous generations. It’s well worth
it. You get to learn a lot about
yourself as a driver. This course will
help you help yourself become a better and safer driver. You may think you’re a good and cautious
driver already, but I can still pretty much guarantee you will learn something
new that you will be able to apply to your own driving style. I’m sure you have had at least one comment
made about your driving, whether it we how fast you’re going, how close you are
behind the car in front of you, or how you always forget to turn on your
blinker especially when you’re in a turn-only lane, etc. This is a completely new field of study that
I’m sure you’ll find much interest in, even if you’ve never drove a car
before. Just by being a passenger, you
can lean a lot, or even only a pedestrian—which we all have surely been at some
point of time. Be patient and take the
facts and definitions to heart. By the
end of the course, I’m sure you’ll have a very deep understanding of driving
psychology, which you’ll want to share with others, especially loved ones who
get behind the wheel.