According to Dr. James, tailgating is following too close to another car with the intention to coerce or punish the other driver when you think they have done something wrong to you.
Holly gives an example of a hypothetical situation of tailgating:
Driving on the freeway at 60mph, a car cuts in front of you and drives at 50mph. Moreover, the person does not warn you by signaling that they will be cutting in front of you. The driver also decides to drive at 50mph. You are now very upset that you want to get back at him by tailgating him. Does this sound like something you might have done? If so, you are guilty of being a tailgater.
To explain the behaviors of driving, there are three domains to this behavior: 1. The affective domain, a person's feeling and motives. 2. The cognitive domain, a person's thoughts and judgements 3. The sensorimotor domain, a person's actions.
My reaction is that I think Holly gives a good introduction and her explanation of what she wants to present in her paper is stated very clearly. I agree with Dr. James definition of tailgating as being intentional and wanting to punish or coerce the drive who has done something wrong to you. This whole section relates to this class because we will be looking at the driving behaviors of the driver.
Jae Isa G1 - Thinks that tailgating is an unjustifiable behavior. She also feels that tailgating should be more legally enforced for the safety of other drivers. She feels that tailgating not only harass the driver but is also invading the personal space of the other driver.
Laura Izutsu G1 - Thinks that everyone tailgates but just don't realize that they are doing it. Like Jae, she thinks that there should be a stricter law to enforce tailgating. Laura feels that law enforcers do not address the problem enough so people don't think that tailgating is a serious problem. Laura said nobody she knows has received a ticket for tailgating therefore drivers don't take it seriously enough like speeding. Laura does not think that tailgating is a moral issue.
Ryan Mitsui G4 - Ryan said that he was a driver who tailgated to punish the other driver for doing him wrong. He was in a car chase because a car cut him off which made him upset. This resulted him to chase this car on the freeway at 75mph. Ryan says that he is guilty of being a tailgater and also thinks that it is a moral issue.
Kathy Teruya G6 - Kathy thinks that tailgating succeeds in getting away with their behavior which reinforces that actions to continue. For example, a tailgater follows a car that drives too slow and the slow driver moves out of the way, which reinforces the tailgater's behavior. Kathy does not believe that being a tailgater is fair, morally right, or can be justifiable. She thinks that there should be an alternative way to get the anger out like squeezing your stress out into a stress ball.
Alan Furukawa G2 - Feels that many people who tail gate are unaware of it. He believes that it is an unconscious act to keep up with the traffic. Alan admits to being a tailgater when someone cuts him off while he is driving. His reason for tailgating is to punish the other driver. He also believes that tailgating is morally wrong and driving too close to the car in front of you can be very dangerous.
My reaction to this section is that it is interesting to see how other students feel about tailgating behavior. I agree with the prior generations in that tailgating is wrong and should be enforced with a stricter law. This section relates to this course because it lets us see the opinions of other drivers.
I really did not have any strong reactions to this section. The only thing I can say is that I do not agree with Holly about having a stress ball in the car. This takes away your concentration from driving and I also feel that the stress ball only makes you more aggressive.
My reaction is that I believe that people do think that they are in a shield while driving in a car. If you are face to face with a person that you are upset with, you will not lash out your anger and start cursing at them. Instead you will try to hold in or control your emotions. This relates to our course in that we can see how people react to their emotions in certain situations. I agree that tailgating is not justifiable in any situation.
She did a mini mini experiment on herself to explain her thoughts, feelings and acts more clearly. The purpose of this experiment was to be aware of when she tailgated or when she wanted to tailgate another car. Here is a brief description of her experiment:
Day 1: Holly was driving home from school on the H1 in the far left lane. A car in front of her was driving at 55mph. She tailgated him for awhile until she was able to change lanes. Holly felt disgusted and upset at the driver for being in the passing lane and driving so slow. Holly also thought that the driver was inconsiderate.
Day 2: Holly was driving her boyfriends car and felt herself feeling more of a responsible driver because it was not her car even in a similar situation.
My reaction is that I too feel more responsible when I drive somebody else's vehicle. I feel that I have to be more careful because it is not my car. This section relates to our course because we have too observe our own driving behavior as Holly did.
Leena Dwiggins
Tailgating seems to be a form of intimidation and an outlet for people who are irritated or angry. It often results in more dangerous actions. What intelligent way do you feel this can be handled?
I totally agree that tailgating is a form of intimidation. Changing lanes could be a good way to avoid the tailgater. However, I also do think that this reinforces the driver to keep tailgating if people keep getting out of his way. I would just ignore the tailgater and just drive on. Confrontation could lead to serious trouble so I would avoid confronting the other driver in any situatuns.
Lynne Faylogna
How can tailgating be regulated?
During my oral presentation, Dr. James said that tailgating is illegal. Giving out tickets or warnings to the drivers who tailgate may reduce this behavior.
James Yang
How do you distinguish between tailgating and following too close?
Tailgating is when you intentionally drive close to a car to punish them for doing you wrong. Following too close is when you just drive really close to the car in front of you without no intention of punishing them.
Robby Solmssen
What do you think is an appropriate distance to follow another car?
In my opinion, there should be a distance of two cars. On the freeway when you are driving at 55mph, it is very dangerous if you have to come to a sudden stop no matter how far apart the cars are. It is always wise to drive with common sense and concentrate so you can react wisely is a situation happens to occurr.
Tomoko Seino
Shouldn't there be a law to eliminate drivers that drive slowly to irritate someone behind as oppose to tailgating?
I never really thought of a law for drivers who drive too slow to irritate someone. Why not when tailgating is illegal. If you are intentionally trying to irritate someone, than you should be punished for that. But I think that proving a driver as irritating someone is going to be very difficult.
Cindy Melo
Should laws against tailgaters be enforced?
Yes, I feel that these laws should be enforced. The problem is how to enforce these laws.
Lianne Allianic
Is tailgating always done to get back at someone?
According to Dr. James' definition, tailgating is done to get back at someone. If you are not trying to get back at someone than you are just driving too clsoe.
Do you think people should be given tickets for tailgating?
Yes
Inkyung Yang
What is the best way to deal with tailgaters?
The best way to deal with tailgaters is to make them take a course in intelligent driving. Maybe Dr. James can teach them a lesson or two.
How would you relate emotional intelligence and tailgating behavior?
I think that people who are not emotionally intelligent are the ones who tailgate. They can not control their own emotions so they let it out by tailgating.
Janice Kamm
Why do you think that tailgating gets people so upset?
I feel that tailgating gets people upset because they know that the tailgater is trying to get back or punish you. I think this makes people very upset. Also tailgating puts the driver in a dangerous situation which is another reason for people to get upset about tailgating.
Tara Anthony
Do you think people believe that tailgating benefits them?
Yes, I do believe that some tailgaters believe that it benefits the. I think some people actually get off on trying to punish the other driver.
Argyle Bumanglag
Don't you think that carrying a stress ball would be only reinforcing the anger and make you more aggressive?
I agree that a stress ball in the car will only reinforce your anger and make you more aggressive. I disagree very much at the idea of having a stress ball in the car. This takes you away from concentrating on driving but concentrates more on your anger and emotions.
Dr. James
Do you think tailgating is a moral issue?
Yes, I believe that tailgating is a moral issue if you are doing it to intentionally coerce and punish the driver. If you have no intentions of hurting the driver than you are just driving too close which is also a dangerous situation.
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