QDC: subtitle by Inkyung Yang, PSY 409b, G13/Spring/2000, University of Hawaii

My QDC Report
The Beauty of Group Efforts
Inkyung Yang

Table of Contents

Instruction for this report
Introduction
Self-Witnessing Reports
Other QDC Members
Conclusion
Epilogue
A Navigation Table

Introduction

What is a QDC?
A QDC(Quality Driving Circles) is an educational program for drivers that attempts to change their negative driving behaviors through group works. Small groups consist of family members or friends not only share their experiences as drivers but also support each other to become better drivers.
Besides face-to-face QDC, there are several other QDCs. They are virtual, dyadic, family, individual, court mandated, school, professional, and senior QDCs. For more details for these QDCs, go to Dr. Driving's site for QDC.

Are QDCs needed?
Many drivers are not aware of their driving behaviors. Also, it seems that for many drivers admitting their own errors is not an easy thing to do, and even when they realize their mistakes, they often find ways to justify their behaviors rather than choosing to correct them. QDC is necessary for any drivers because first, it helps drivers to reconsider their driving behaviors. Second, it promotes positive driving habits by reinforcing such behaviors through group works. Lastly, as it is stated in Dr. Driving's QDC report, QDC members put more efforts to try to change their negative behaviors because of the peer pressure.

Self-Witnessing Report

Table of My SWR Postings

SWRs Postings & Evaluations
1
(TEE Card No.44C2 & 42C2) I sometimes take things that other drivers do personally. For example, it is very likely that I would get upset if I was in the same situation as it was described in Dr. Driver's survey question(Tee card no.44C2). Also, some things that people said why other drivers make them mad sounded really familiar to me. For example, I get irratated by slow drivers who stay in the passing lane, or drivers acting like speed racers trying to impress their friends. I may have symptoms of confrontational thinking but I really think some drivers need serious help.

In this SWR, I definitely have symptoms of confrontatioanl thinking. I said "I get irritated by slow drivers in the passing lane". My affective self was not considerate and probably feeling competitive which led incorrect conclusions(cognitive). I didn't mention how I react to those drivers but I can guess that I would have yelled or become impatient.
2
(TEE Card No.1C1) From the top ten list, I have to say that I do #6(yelling, insulting, or gesturing) the most. I don?t tailgate or cut off to show my anger towards other drivers, but I do yell or curse at them. I realize that it is not a good habit because it puts me into a bad mood which can affect my driving. #3(turning without signaling) is the one I never do. I?ve had several situations where I felt dangerous because someone in front of me turned without signaling. So, I?m always aware of signaling before changing lanes or turning. Even if there is enough space, it is nice to know what other drivers are up to do.

Yelling and gesturing were the most common sensori-motor behaviors that I exhibited. These negative behaviors are always interconnected with negative affective and cognitive states. For example, I yelled at the other drivers because I took their behaviors personally and therefore couldn't think of other alternatives. As a result, I began to have insulting thoughts and verbalized them.

3
(TEE Card No.2C1) I consider myself as a defensive driver. When I drive, I don?t have any sort of competitive feelings toward other drivers. But, I do get angry when someone violates my space and puts me into dangerous situations. Also, I get angry when someone does not show any concerns for other drivers, such as not letting someone in even if that person is waving. Although I don?t keep track of any behaviors from the list, I stare at whoever retaliated me until they disappear. I think this can be good and bad. It?s good because I?m keeping an eye on an aggressive driver for the safety reason. It?s bad because I?m staring the person with hatred, meaning that my anger is in control during that time.

In this SWR, I said I don't have any competitive feelings when driving. When I think about it now though, I must have some competitive feelings because I got angry with other drivers when they violated my space. If I was thinking that I was sharing the road with other drivers, I wouldn't have felt so violated with other drivers. It's important to keep a distance between drivers for the safety reason, but it's also important to remember that the road is for every drivers. What I mean is if I had positive affective state of mind(feeling supportive and respectful), letting other drivers into the same lane or allowing fast drivers to cut me off wouldn't have bothered me so much.
4
(TEE Card No.4C1) From what I rated on the road rage test on myself, I have moderate road rage. Surprisingly though, my road rage level is at a dangerous level according to my friend?s rating. It was somewhat surprising because I didn?t think I was that bad. Yes, I get upset at other drivers who are inconsiderate and irresponsible. Also, I hate to be stuck in a traffic since my car doesn?t have an a/c. But, I never tailgate slow drivers, go through red lights, or drive drunk. What I?m saying is that I don?t drive aggressively to retaliate others even when I feel frustrated. But instead, I let my frustrations by talking to myself. I raise my voice and complain about the situations, and yell at other drivers. I admit that I sometimes lose my control over my emotions but I don?t think I have road rage tendency. What do you think?

I've been trying to modify my driving habit of mumbling and yelling since the beginning of this sememster. I think I can manage my anger better now and therefore I don't do such things as often as before. I thought I was not an aggressive driver because I don't do obvious things to piss off other drivers such as tailgating. But, I realized that complaining and yelling can have a lot of affect on how I drive too. The reason why I yelled and complained is because I haven't developed skills to manage my anger. For example, if I was feeling irritated with other drivers, I could have simply counted 10 to calm my emotions before start to think negative thoughts. Yelling is an example of negative sensori-motor domain and the habit can be modified by maintaining positive affective and cognitive domains.
5
(TEE Card No.8C2) I would say that I?m more like a phase 2 driver. I don?t have any competitive feelings toward other drivers when I?m driving. My goal behind the wheel is to get to the destination without any complications. However, I have to admit that I sometimes have problems with cognitive and sensori-motor self in phase 1. For example, I become over-critical with other drivers especially if I?m in a jammed traffic. And, negative cognitive status usually result negative sensori-motor self such as feeling stressed out and yelling. I think it?s because I haven?t developed sufficient skills to manage my emotions yet. Even though my initial goal is positive, it?s not enough for becoming a phase 2 driver.

6
(TEE Card No.9C2) Many of the hints that Dr. Driving suggest for managing anger are easy to remember and follow. Among those, the Castanza technique and the Driving Diary are the two things that I want to try. I?m familiar with other techniques such as counting ten, making funny noises, and thinking of alternatives. All of these techniques are helpful in reducing the anger by stopping negative thoughts to spread, and therefore them to monopolize your emotions.
7
(TEE Card No.15C2) I know it for myself that I sometimes yell or verbalize my anger while on the road. I don?t directly shout at other drivers, but it is more like I?m talking to myself. Dr. Driving said that driving habits are transmitted from generation to generation. I think he is right. I was in the car with my mother yesterday. While she was driving, this one car in front of us suddenly made a right turn without signaling. I was amazed to how my mother reacted to it because it was the reaction I would usually do in sort of similar situations. She raised her voice and complained about the driver for about 5minutes. I don?t blame my mother for my driving habit of yelling but it was an interesting experience.
8
(TEE Card No.30C6) This is a terrible story and definitely a road rage case. There are many things that could have prevented this disaster to happen. For example, if the first driver chose not to drive because he had been drinking, it would have not happened. Or, if the second driver just went on his way after getting the license number, he didn?t have to confront the first driver who was probably still drunk. Or, if they both were not carring weapons in their cars?.Many things could have stopped the accident, but obviously they didn?t see those options because of their inability to control their emotions. It is scary to hear that this kind of accidents happened hundreds of times this year.

9
(TEE Card No.33C7 & 34C7) My 4 years old niece one day told my mom "Grandma, you can't drive!". My mom asked why and she said "because you are a grandma". Later, I asked my sister if she ever made comments about elderly drivers. I guessed it right. My sister-in-law's favorite phrase is, "she must be old to drive like that". Children learn to stereotype people and objects as they grow up. Stereotyping is useful because it is a mental shorcut. It helps people to retrieve informations quickly. However, stereotyping can be negative when it is not used propertly. Probably my sister-in-law has stereotypes for elderly drivers which he learned from his parents or the media. Then, my niece learned it from her father.

Media is so influential so that it can shape people's thinking and culture. We don't really think about it because it's become a very important part of our lives. I think it's kind of scary that we are not only surrounded but also controlled by it. Driving norm is an example. Many driving behaviors are found in the media which then reinforces such behaviors. For example, from what I've seen, male drivers are more aggressive and skillful than female drivers. Female drivers are often depicted as clumsy drivers. Another example is that younger drivers, especially males, are depicted as crazy, irresponsible, and dangerous. Ironically though, such negative behaviors are often shown as more appropriate behaviors for their age. If we become more sensitive and aware of driving issues, we can find many bad examples in the media that need to be addressed.
10
(TEE Card No.55C2 & 57C2) This is a story of my friend which happened about a month ago in Japan. My friend, Chika, and her boyfriend were on the way to a restaurant and her boyfriend was driving at that time. They were driving pleasantly until a car behind him started tailgating them. Chika's boyfriend got irritated by the car because the road was wide and there was almost no cars driving. Chika and her boyfriend tried to ignore it at first because they thought the driver would change his lane. But, the driver continued tailgating them. Then, Chika told her boyfriend to change the lane and let the other driver go. Chika's boyfriend became so angry so that he started yelling and cursing at the driver and didn't listen to his girlfriend. Chika's boyfriend let the driver to continue tailgating for awhile and suddenly applied the brake. The driver almost hit my friends' car and drove away with honking and yelling. Chika's boyfriend was so mad that he got out of the car and tried to run after the driver. Fortunately, Chika and her boyfriend didn't get into an accident but their plan for a nice dinner was ruined. Chika told me that she was so upset with her boyfriend's action so that she didn't talk to him for 2 weeks after that day.

Fortunately they didn't get into an accident but if Chika's boyfriend didn't try to get the driver, they could have had a nice dinner as it was planned. Surely, the driver who tailgated them was bad but getting even with the driver was not a smart decision. Probably, Chika's boyfriend felt violated when the driver continued tailgating even if he didn't have to. Then, he took the driver's action as some sort of confrontation. These negative affective and cognitive eventually led him to get even with the driver by applying brake suddenly.

Summary of self-improvement attemts
From reading the SWRs, I think my driving behaviors are improving. For example, I'm more aware of my driving habits than before so that it's easier to prevent those habits before they appear. Also, I've become a more considerate driver than before. I don't take things that other drivers do personally anymore but instead I think of other alternatives for their behaviors. In this way, I don't get mad as often as before and I find myself enjoying driving more.

Evaluations of other QDC members
Marshall Miyoshi(G7)
First of all, I really enjoyed reading his makeover story of his father. For three days Marshall runs a mini personality makeover on his father's driving. From his descriptions, his father is very confident with his driving skills. On the first day of makeover, Marshall witnesses several negative behaviors of his father. After they are back from driving, Marshall helds a discussion session where he makes suggestions and comments on negative behaviors that he observed. His father doesn't seem too happy to hear comments on his driving behavior from his son since he is the one who taught driving to his son. On the second day, Marshall tells his father to drive the way he wants him to drive. For example, Marshall tells his father not to weave in and out. His father seems more irritated than the first day since he doesn't really have control over how he drives. At the briefing, Marshall tells his father that he shouldn't see his car as a source of power but privilege. I like what Marshall says here. It seems that there are too many drivers whose motive is to control other drivers by cutting off or weaving in/out. I believe that if we have more appreciation and consideration towards other drivers, there will be less road rage. At the end, he says that his father doesn't see any problems with his driving but infact, he considers him as a good and skillful driver. Having confidence is not a bad thing but I think it's important to be able to accept one's own behaviors whether they are good or bad. I'm sure that if Marshall had continued his project longer, he would have seen better outcomes.

Raeder Kinney(G6)
I found Raeder's report impressive. He explains the reasons why QDC is needed and how it can affect our lives. His statitics on the cases of road rage were shocking yet infomative. He says that drivers need to improve their driving skills by recognizing and modifing their ACS skills(Affective, Cognitive, and Sensorimotor). He belives that QDC will help drivers to improve their ACS skills by sharing experiences with other drivers and discussing better ways to deal with problems.
His QDC members consisted of 3 people. Raeder asked them to record their own driving behaviors at the first meeting. At the second meeting, none of the members found any negative behaviors from their recordings except for some mumbling and singing. Raeder felt that members' observations might have been biased which led him to include other people: mothers of the members. At the last meeting, the results were what Raeder had expected. That is, observations that are made by the mothers were quite different from the self-observations of the members. His QDC experience tells us that how people can be ignorant of their own behaviors. As he states in his report, I strongly believe that realization of one's behavior is the first step to QDC. Also, I agree with him that ACS skills must be learned prior to becoming a licensed driver. Also as he states, it is important for the parents to be involved in teaching and learing of ACS skills.

Jason Nakasone(G11)
Jason's driving buddy project was to help someone from Kauai to become a better adjusted driver on Oahu. In his introduction, he says that being a driving buddy is not for everyone. He sees a driving buddy as a teacher-like figure who is in control of her/his emotions and therefore capable of teaching and looking after other drivers. I agree with him saying that it is not easy to be a driving buddy because often times people are not open to criticisms. I think this is true especially with driving. To me, being a driving buddy is all about sharing and supporting. If you and your driving buddy have the same motivations to improve driving behaviors or ACS skills, then you will be motivated to listen other's suggestions and also to give ones. You may not be a good driver, but you'll eventually become one if you and your driving buddy work together to achieve the goal. Having a driving buddy is important to change one's driving behaviors because she/he can act as a unbiased witness of your behavior, a supporter, and a partner toward your goal.

Corey Egami(G11)
Corey's project was to become a driving buddy and her partner was her female friend(Jen) who was raised in Maui. From Corey's descriptions, Jen is a passive driver. I'm not sure how slow Jen was driving but being cut over 10times in the weekday afternoon sounds bad. I agree with Corey that passive drivers can affect the other drivers as much as the aggressive drivers do.

Ayada Azeez(G7)
In overall, Ayada's report is descriptive, infomative, and fun to read. She ran the QDC which included herself and two of her friends. At the first meeting, she collects driving attitudes of each members by using Dr. Driving's questionnares. At the second meeting, they compared the results of their self-witnessing behaviors, but like others, nothing really serious was reported. Also, it seemed that they made more observations of other drivers than themselves. Corey hold her last meeting on the road and each member took a turn to drive. Three meetings didn't seem to improve their driving behaviors but I'm sure QDC experience made them more considerate and better drivers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think it's important to know that drivers are like your neighbors. If you think other drivers as your neighbors, you are more likely to become more considerate and supportive with them. Just like the neighbors share their communities with each other, drivers need to be more conscious of sharing the road with each other. To create safer and more pleasant driving community, it is our responsiblity to contribute our efforts into it by learning and developing ACS and driving skills.

Epilogue

To do this report, I realized it's really important to participate the forum discussions regulary. Because of my personal reasons, I couldn't participate discussions regulary and therefore I found it difficult to complete this report. However, it was rewarding to see how my driving behaviors have changed since the beginning of this class. Traffic psychology is a relatively new field but its importance becomes obvious as you know more and more about the subject.

A Navigation Table

My Oral Presentation File #1
My Oral Presentation File #2

My Report3:
Definitions of Traffic Psychology

Icons Folder

My Class Home Page

Dr.Leon James Homepage

me!

SWRs	Postings & Evaluations
1 (TEE Card No.44C2 & 42C2)	I sometimes take things that other drivers do personally. For example, it is very likely that I would get upset if I was in the same situation as it was described in Dr. Driver's survey question(Tee card no.44C2). Also, some things that people said why other drivers make them mad sounded really familiar to me. For example, I get irratated by slow drivers who stay in the passing lane, or drivers acting like speed racers trying to impress their friends. I may have symptoms of confrontational thinking but I really think some drivers need serious help. In this SWR, I definitely have symptoms of confrontatioanl thinking. I said "I get irritated by slow drivers in the passing lane". My affective self was not considerate and probably feeling competitive which led incorrect conclusions(cognitive). I didn't mention how I react to those drivers but I can guess that I would have yelled or become impatient.
2 (TEE Card No.1C1)	From the top ten list, I have to say that I do #6(yelling, insulting, or gesturing) the most. I don?t tailgate or cut off to show my anger towards other drivers, but I do yell or curse at them. I realize that it is not a good habit because it puts me into a bad mood which can affect my driving. #3(turning without signaling) is the one I never do. I?ve had several situations where I felt dangerous because someone in front of me turned without signaling. So, I?m always aware of signaling before changing lanes or turning. Even if there is enough space, it is nice to know what other drivers are up to do. Yelling and gesturing were the most common sensori-motor behaviors that I exhibited. These negative behaviors are always interconnected with negative affective and cognitive states. For example, I yelled at the other drivers because I took their behaviors personally and therefore couldn't think of other alternatives. As a result, I began to have insulting thoughts and verbalized them.
3 (TEE Card No.2C1)	I consider myself as a defensive driver. When I drive, I don?t have any sort of competitive feelings toward other drivers. But, I do get angry when someone violates my space and puts me into dangerous situations. Also, I get angry when someone does not show any concerns for other drivers, such as not letting someone in even if that person is waving. Although I don?t keep track of any behaviors from the list, I stare at whoever retaliated me until they disappear. I think this can be good and bad. It?s good because I?m keeping an eye on an aggressive driver for the safety reason. It?s bad because I?m staring the person with hatred, meaning that my anger is in control during that time. In this SWR, I said I don't have any competitive feelings when driving. When I think about it now though, I must have some competitive feelings because I got angry with other drivers when they violated my space. If I was thinking that I was sharing the road with other drivers, I wouldn't have felt so violated with other drivers. It's important to keep a distance between drivers for the safety reason, but it's also important to remember that the road is for every drivers. What I mean is if I had positive affective state of mind(feeling supportive and respectful), letting other drivers into the same lane or allowing fast drivers to cut me off wouldn't have bothered me so much.
4 (TEE Card No.4C1)	From what I rated on the road rage test on myself, I have moderate road rage. Surprisingly though, my road rage level is at a dangerous level according to my friend?s rating. It was somewhat surprising because I didn?t think I was that bad. Yes, I get upset at other drivers who are inconsiderate and irresponsible. Also, I hate to be stuck in a traffic since my car doesn?t have an a/c. But, I never tailgate slow drivers, go through red lights, or drive drunk. What I?m saying is that I don?t drive aggressively to retaliate others even when I feel frustrated. But instead, I let my frustrations by talking to myself. I raise my voice and complain about the situations, and yell at other drivers. I admit that I sometimes lose my control over my emotions but I don?t think I have road rage tendency. What do you think? I've been trying to modify my driving habit of mumbling and yelling since the beginning of this sememster. I think I can manage my anger better now and therefore I don't do such things as often as before. I thought I was not an aggressive driver because I don't do obvious things to piss off other drivers such as tailgating. But, I realized that complaining and yelling can have a lot of affect on how I drive too. The reason why I yelled and complained is because I haven't developed skills to manage my anger. For example, if I was feeling irritated with other drivers, I could have simply counted 10 to calm my emotions before start to think negative thoughts. Yelling is an example of negative sensori-motor domain and the habit can be modified by maintaining positive affective and cognitive domains.
5 (TEE Card No.8C2)	I would say that I?m more like a phase 2 driver. I don?t have any competitive feelings toward other drivers when I?m driving. My goal behind the wheel is to get to the destination without any complications. However, I have to admit that I sometimes have problems with cognitive and sensori-motor self in phase 1. For example, I become over-critical with other drivers especially if I?m in a jammed traffic. And, negative cognitive status usually result negative sensori-motor self such as feeling stressed out and yelling. I think it?s because I haven?t developed sufficient skills to manage my emotions yet. Even though my initial goal is positive, it?s not enough for becoming a phase 2 driver.
6 (TEE Card No.9C2)	Many of the hints that Dr. Driving suggest for managing anger are easy to remember and follow. Among those, the Castanza technique and the Driving Diary are the two things that I want to try. I?m familiar with other techniques such as counting ten, making funny noises, and thinking of alternatives. All of these techniques are helpful in reducing the anger by stopping negative thoughts to spread, and therefore them to monopolize your emotions.
7 (TEE Card No.15C2)	I know it for myself that I sometimes yell or verbalize my anger while on the road. I don?t directly shout at other drivers, but it is more like I?m talking to myself. Dr. Driving said that driving habits are transmitted from generation to generation. I think he is right. I was in the car with my mother yesterday. While she was driving, this one car in front of us suddenly made a right turn without signaling. I was amazed to how my mother reacted to it because it was the reaction I would usually do in sort of similar situations. She raised her voice and complained about the driver for about 5minutes. I don?t blame my mother for my driving habit of yelling but it was an interesting experience.
8 (TEE Card No.30C6)	This is a terrible story and definitely a road rage case. There are many things that could have prevented this disaster to happen. For example, if the first driver chose not to drive because he had been drinking, it would have not happened. Or, if the second driver just went on his way after getting the license number, he didn?t have to confront the first driver who was probably still drunk. Or, if they both were not carring weapons in their cars?.Many things could have stopped the accident, but obviously they didn?t see those options because of their inability to control their emotions. It is scary to hear that this kind of accidents happened hundreds of times this year.
9 (TEE Card No.33C7 & 34C7)	My 4 years old niece one day told my mom "Grandma, you can't drive!". My mom asked why and she said "because you are a grandma". Later, I asked my sister if she ever made comments about elderly drivers. I guessed it right. My sister-in-law's favorite phrase is, "she must be old to drive like that". Children learn to stereotype people and objects as they grow up. Stereotyping is useful because it is a mental shorcut. It helps people to retrieve informations quickly. However, stereotyping can be negative when it is not used propertly. Probably my sister-in-law has stereotypes for elderly drivers which he learned from his parents or the media. Then, my niece learned it from her father. Media is so influential so that it can shape people's thinking and culture. We don't really think about it because it's become a very important part of our lives. I think it's kind of scary that we are not only surrounded but also controlled by it. Driving norm is an example. Many driving behaviors are found in the media which then reinforces such behaviors. For example, from what I've seen, male drivers are more aggressive and skillful than female drivers. Female drivers are often depicted as clumsy drivers. Another example is that younger drivers, especially males, are depicted as crazy, irresponsible, and dangerous. Ironically though, such negative behaviors are often shown as more appropriate behaviors for their age. If we become more sensitive and aware of driving issues, we can find many bad examples in the media that need to be addressed.
10 (TEE Card No.55C2 & 57C2)	This is a story of my friend which happened about a month ago in Japan. My friend, Chika, and her boyfriend were on the way to a restaurant and her boyfriend was driving at that time. They were driving pleasantly until a car behind him started tailgating them. Chika's boyfriend got irritated by the car because the road was wide and there was almost no cars driving. Chika and her boyfriend tried to ignore it at first because they thought the driver would change his lane. But, the driver continued tailgating them. Then, Chika told her boyfriend to change the lane and let the other driver go. Chika's boyfriend became so angry so that he started yelling and cursing at the driver and didn't listen to his girlfriend. Chika's boyfriend let the driver to continue tailgating for awhile and suddenly applied the brake. The driver almost hit my friends' car and drove away with honking and yelling. Chika's boyfriend was so mad that he got out of the car and tried to run after the driver. Fortunately, Chika and her boyfriend didn't get into an accident but their plan for a nice dinner was ruined. Chika told me that she was so upset with her boyfriend's action so that she didn't talk to him for 2 weeks after that day. Fortunately they didn't get into an accident but if Chika's boyfriend didn't try to get the driver, they could have had a nice dinner as it was planned. Surely, the driver who tailgated them was bad but getting even with the driver was not a smart decision. Probably, Chika's boyfriend felt violated when the driver continued tailgating even if he didn't have to. Then, he took the driver's action as some sort of confrontation. These negative affective and cognitive eventually led him to get even with the driver by applying brake suddenly.