AGGRESSIVENESS ON THE ROAD: SPEEDING

By: KYUNG HAN
Psychology 260
Dr. Jakobovits: Instructor
May 5, 1988


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Do you speed? Oh, just a few miles over the speed limit say five or ten mph? It is likely that most of you would confess that you do speed. So do I. But I've completed my research and should have reformed from such atrocious behavior you ask? Perhaps you are correct. After all I have discovered and the statistics I have come across, I should have reformed ir.stantly. But I didn't. Why do I still speed? Why do I display such aggressive behavior? For that matter, why do you? You might argue that speeding isn't really aggressive behavior, not like running red lights or cutting close in front of another car. Or you might argue that everyone speeds and if you don't keep up with the rest, the other drivers start to get upset with you and pressure you. Or like me, you just always feel like you are in a hurry right? Or are you? Now that is a personal question you will have to answer for yourself. But we will -look at some of these questions and I will give you some examples and statistics and hopefully you will get a better idea of why people (you and I) display aggressiveness on the road-- particularly, why we speed.


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LIBRARY RESEARCH REPORT

At 4:00 pm, I called the Honolulu Police Department and asked whom I could speak to about traffic accidents and statistics. I was referred to Lt. Yuen who is the officer for traffic investigations. He referred me to the Research and Development division where the phone was answered by the Fire Dept. Apparently, the Research Office was closed and the Fire Dept. hooked on to the line. (How that happened, I still don't know.) The Fireman referred me to the State Department of Transportation Highways division to which no one answered. Finally, I called the police dept. again and they told me I could speak to Lt. Yuen. I called him back and told him what had happened. He finally talked to me and gave me some relevant data and statistics. I was becoming frustrated because of the run around, but they were so polite and kind and tried to help me so I couldn't really be angry.


March 11, 1988 at 5:30 pm, I was at the Hamilton Library trying to figure out how I should begin the gruelsome research task that lay before me. I went to the on-line computer catalog figuring that would be the best place to get started. I simply browsed under the subject "Aggression", hoping to get some leads. I didn't get much but jotted down a few possibilities. I then went to the Infotrac to look for possible sources in magazines. I came up with a few possible articles under aggression.


March 15, 1988 In the morning, I again returned to the Hamilton Library. For about 25 minutes, I sat and searched through the serials printout for the call numbers for the magazines. I then went down to the ground floor for the first time. I wasn't sure how things worked down there so I asked a Librarian if she could help me. I told her what type of information I wanted and she gave me a microfilm of the "National Transportation Statistics." I looked through the microfiche and jotted down pertinent information. I then began looking through~government publications index for possible sources. I only came up with a few possibilities. Later, that same afternoon, I returned to the library and determined where the books and magazines would be located. I then decided to search out the magazines. I found only a few but had to discard it as it was not useful. Some were missing from the shelves and were not to be found on the book stacks. I came up with one article of use. In the evening, I returned to search for the books but discovered that most of them had been checked out. I did, however, browse through the shelves and discovered a number of books that I could use. I checked them out.


March 16, 1988 at 2:30 pm I returned to the ground floor to search for more sources. I located four sources on microfiche and went over them. I jotted down what relevant information there was.


March 17, 1988 Today, I went to the fifth floor of the Hamilton Library (Hawaiian section). I asked the librarian for some help in locating information pertaining to aggression on the road here in Hawaii. The librarian tried to help but really was of no help. So I just sat in front of the on-line computer catalog and tried Hawaii. I got tons of listings but none of them were useful. I kept trying different topics like traffic accidents, traffic, traffic aggression, and others I do not remember any more. I finally got some leads and had them bring it out. I got some sources that were very useful and a few that were not. I returned to the library to collect all the information I needed xeroxed and xeroxed them. Now to begin organizing all the material so I can start writing up my paper.


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AGGRESSION

Definition:

Aggression is defined differently by different psychologists and can be described in many ways. But we will use a definition that is widely accepted and used in our textbook. According to Robert A. Baron, an active and respected investigator of aggression, "aggression is any form of behavior performed with the intention or goal of harming another living being who is motivated to avoid harm." (Potkay and Allen, 1986, p. 399.)


Forms of Aggression:

Obviously there are many forms of aggressive behavior--from murder and rape to obscene gestures and language. Likewise, there are many types of road aqaression--from shooting it out on the freeway to angrily honking and gesturing. If we were to list some of our own personal experiences of road aggression to or from others, we could probably come up with a pretty good list. For example, from my own personal experiences on the road, other drivers have cut closely in front of me with out signaling, have tailgated behind me, honked and yelled at me and cussed at me while giving me dirty looks. On one occassion, as a child, a man cornered and edged threateningly closer while gunning his engine, terrifying my sister and I. Fortunately, my mother heard us screaming and came to us and cried out in anger at the man. He left and I've never encountered such terrifying road aggression since then.


On my part, most of my aggression stays in my mind. I may be in an affective and coqnitive state of aggression but I have never overtly hurt or threatened another driver. I control and modify my aggression before a sensory motor response is performed. That does not mean I do not experience aggression on the road--I do--I just rarely display it for others to see. I become very angry when another motorist cuts sharply in front of me without any warning. I often feel like accelerating into the back of his or her car and giving him or her a piece of my mind. More overt acts of aggression include jumping ahead of the other cars as soon as the light at an intersection turns green (that could be very dangerous), tailgating and speeding when I am late for an appointment, or giving exasperated looks at careless pedestrians or bikers.


Example of deadly road aaqression on the freeway:

Unfortunately, we frequently have road aggression much more intense than mine and probably yours. One tragic incident was repeatedly publicized horrifying the public and causing some to take exteme actions. In an article by Newsweek, a shootout on a free way in LA is recounted. Marty Korse, a 26-year-old tow truck driver, attempted to get on the Golden State freeway when a Datsun pickup blocked him from merging. Korse slowed down but the pickup slowed down too, then tailgated him, then suddenly pulled alonside him. The passenger looked at Korse with a bizarre grin and pointed a hand gun at Korse's face. Then he raised the gun and fired over Korse's truck. This incident was one of at least 20 highway shootings in LA within six weeks. Three people died, four others were wounded. With the media's help, frightened commuters began arming themselves for protection and thus increasing the danger. (Kaus and Huck, August 10, 1987)


What was the cause of LA's sudden outburst of shootings? According to the article, it was congestion. LA has grown rapidly but the road system has not kept up. Compared with 1970, three times as many vehicles are now spent delayed in stop and the marvelous multi-laned freeways may have reached their limits. (Kaus and Huck, 1987) And no wonder, more than one billion motor vehicles have been produced worldwide since the turn of the century. In the US today, there are two cars for every three people, compared to only one car for every 15,000 people in China. Car ownership continues to rise and in the US alone, more than 11 million new cars ventured into the already overcrowded roads in 1986.(Marsh and Collett, June 1987)


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Speeding

In Hawaii, speeding too fast was the third highest contributing circumstance for fatal accidents behind driving drunk for 1984. So the argument that speeding really isn't aggressive behavior or that it doesn't really hurt anyone doesn't hold up--at least not here in Hawaii.


TABLE 1.

CONTRIBUTING CIRCUMSTANCES, STATE OF HAWAII, 1984

FACTOR...................................ALL ACCIDENTS...................FATAL ACCIDENTS
Drinking..................................................1,735..........................................42
Speed too fast.........................................1,306..........................................22
Failed to yield right of way.......................2,714............................................8
Passed stop sign........................................172.............................................1
Disregarded traffic signal............................355.............................................2
Drove left of center....................................355...........................................12
Improper overtaking..................................201.............................................2
Followed too closely..............................1,138..............................................1
Made improper turn..................................330..............................................1
Other improper driving...........................8,472............................................23
............................TOTALS.................16,778..........................................114
(Department of Transportation, Hawaii, 1984, p.29)

Why do we speed?

So why do we speed? I am sure that there are numerous reasons. For instance, I enjoy the feeling and sensation of moving "very fast". I also speed because I am in a rush to be some place. But generally, it appears as if the "habitual speeders" (those who speed frequently at excessively high speeds because of the sensations) speed because their internal inhibitions, such as traffic laws, aren't strong e nough to override the motivation or desire.


Physiological Effects:

Few people can describe the mixture of sensations they experience while accelerating when they drive, but for some the effect is so psychologically intense that no other can match it. An article by Psychology Today describes the physiological effects of accelerating in a car.


As a human body accelerates, nerves in muscles all over the body react. Signals are sent through the spinal cord, which in turn increases muscle tone, particularly in areas, such as the neck, that are most affected by acceleration forces. This vastly increases the body's state of arousal. The central nervous system translates this arousal into a number of emotions. For some people it is pure fear. Others perceive this basic emot lonal state as intensely pleasurable. The fear and the state of alertness are still there, but they have been mastered. Acceleration is under one's control, and the result is a flush of emotion that some liken to orgasm. As speed increases, the initial rush of excitement is replaced with peculiar perceptual distortions. At about 70 mph, a driver feels a satisfying sense of getting somewhee pretty quickly. At about 100 mph, the brain cannot cope with some of the rapidly changing signals coming from the eyes. Normally we can take in visual signals from an arc of about 160 degrees, but at high speed the effective arc is much smaller. Things to the side become a meaningless blur as the brain concentrates on what it needs to know.


This produces a kind of tunnel vision in which the road in front and the controls and dashboard of the car are all clear. Everything else is effectively lost from view. Concentration increases naturally as the focus of attention is narrowed. (Marsh,Collett, 1987, p.20)


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Sensation Seeking:

As stated in the article, there are definite physiological effects on the body when speeding. You might say the sensations are addicting. Our text book describes sensation seeking chapter 10 as reflecting a broad need or motive to maintain an optimal level of stimulation of arousal. (Potkay and Allen, 1986) The need for the sensations created by speeding and the willingness of speeders to take physical and social risks in order to experience them is reflective of the sensation seeking trait. The text book indicat es that the most important demographic or group variable affecting Sensation Seeking Scale scores is age. Sensation seeking increases with age until adolescence, then declines from the 20's on. (Potkay and Allen, 1986) Below we have a table that indicates that drivers who are 17 years and under have the highest percentage of accidents in correlation to the n umber of registered drivers. Beyond 24 years of age, the percent drops considerably. I believe the sensation seeking trait related to age is an indication of who speeds (aggresses) and are willing to take more risks.


Risk-taking:

In addition to the physiological sensations, there is a risk involved, which adds to the excitement of speeding. People


TABLE 2.

DRIVER REGISTRATION AND INVOLVEMENT IN ALL ACCIDENTS, Hawaii, 1984 AGE GROUP

17 years and under..............................................................................................
18 and 19............................................................................................................
20 - 24................................................................................................................
25 - 34................................................................................................................
35 - 44................................................................................................................
45 - 54................................................................................................................
55 - 64................................................................................................................
65 and over.........................................................................................................
Totals..................................................................................................................

DRIVERS REGISTERED*

MALE....................................FEMALE........................................TOTAL
9,002 ........................................5,971.............................................14,973
11,894.......................................9,340.............................................21,234
36,085.....................................30,350.............................................66,435
82,369.....................................74,671...........................................157,040
66,427.....................................58,529...........................................124,956
41,061.....................................35,701.............................................76,762
41,608.....................................31,199.............................................72,807
32,235.....................................15,776.............................................48.011
320,681.................................261,537...........................................582,218

DRIVERS IN ACCIDENTS**

MALE......................................FEMAI.E......................................TOTAL
1,143............................................475...............................................1,618
1,368............................................527...............................................1,895
3,904.........................................1,492...............................................5,396
5,271.........................................2,445...............................................7,716
3,134.........................................1,593...............................................4,727
1,606............................................754...............................................2,360
1,420............................................522...............................................1,942
1,005............................................320...............................................1,325
18,851.......................................8,128.............................................26,979

INDEX

MALE......................................FEMALE.......................................TOTAL
2.2.................................................2.5....................................................2.3
2.0.................................................1.8....................................................1.9
1.8.................................................1.6....................................................1.8
1.1.................................................1.0....................................................1.1
0.8.................................................0.9....................................................0.8
0.7.................................................0.7....................................................0.7
0.6.................................................0.5....................................................0.6
0.5.................................................0.7....................................................0.6

Driver Involvement Index = Percent Involved in Accidents
Percent Registered
* Sourcel Department of Data Systems, City & County of Honolulu
** Excludes drivers whose age and/or sex were not stated
(Department of Transportation, Hawaii, 1984, p. 21)



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generally seem to want to maintain a certain level of risk in all areas of life. This risk-taking is clearly seen on the road. If roads are safer to drive on--more lanes, improved surfaces and reduced traffic density-- people would drive faster. If cars are equipped with better brakes, smoother suspension and reduced noise levels, people are again likely to drive faster. "Experiments have shown that we tend to keep our arousal level fairly constant-while driving, whether we are on safe roads with few cars or on dangerous roads. We do this by driving faster on safe roads and slower on dangerous ones. People use thier cars to regulate their internal states. In this way, a car is like alcohol or nicotine; just as smoking a cigarette can cool one's nerves or increase one's arousal, so too can driving." (Marsh and Collett, 1987, p.20-21)

On a more personal level, I was surprised to see two cars race it out on the Pali. Recently, while we were on the Pali driving at 55 mph on a 45 mph zone (I wasn't driving), a sports car whizzed by us. I more heard it speed by than sa w it. An instant later, a black blur sped by us--it was a large pick up truck. About 50 feet or so ahead of us, there were two cars, one on each lane. The little sports car tailgated so close to the one car, I wasn't sure if it wasn't going to hit it. The driver must have been a bit scared because it sped up a little and turned onto the right lane in front of the other car. The sports car toook off. The black truck changed to the left lane and took off after the sports car. I could only shake my head in wonder. Fortunately, there was no accident (where I was at anyways) but are we always so lucky. I don't think so.


Traffic Accidents--Nationwide

In 1984, according to the National Transportation Statistics, a total of 127, 866,900 passenger cars and taxis were registered. Of that, 25,310,000 cars or taxis were involved in some form of accident. That is 20 percent of registered passenger cars and taxis that wefe involved in a reported accident in the US for 1984. 37,600 of those accidents were fatal. (US Department of Transportation; 1986)


Traffic Statistics--Hawaii state

There was a 7.8% increase in major traffic accidents in the state from 1983 to 1984. Friday was the worst day in the week day, Sunday, and Monday had the highest percent for fatal accidents. The month of December had the most accidents during 1984 but March accounted for the most fatal accidents. Most of the accidents (about 61%) occurred during day light; however, 68% of fatal accidents occurred during the hours of darkness, dawn or dusk. (Department of Transportation, Hawaii, 1984)


A total of 136 persons were killed in traffic ac Cidents in Hawaii in 1984--three fewer than the previous year. (Department of Transportation, Hawaii, 1984) The number of injured persons increased 4.5% from 1983 to 1984. There were 24 pedestrians killed in 1984--almost half were 65 years of age or older. The age group 15-24 accounted for 31% of the drivers involved in all accidents and fatal accidents. The number of drinking drivers involved in fatal accidents had been increasing steadily from 1981 to 1983; however, in 1984, there was a 20% decrease from the previous year. The police road block program which was vigorously pursued in 1984 has been credited for turning the trend around. (Department of Transportation, Hawaii, 1984)


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TABLE 3.

TRAFFIC ACCIDENT STATISTICS, HAWAII, 1984

...............................ACCIDENTS.................................................................PERS0NS
TOTAL...FATAL.....NON-FATAL...PROPERTY DAMAGE.....KILLED....INJURED
13,299........85..................6,485.............................6,729...................90...............9,158
2,214..........19..................1,127.............................1,068...................21...............1,713
1,362..........15.....................686................................661...................16...............1,039
...782............8.....................316................................458.....................9..................480
17,657......127..................8,614..............................8,9l6.................136.............12,390

(Department of Transportation, Hawaii, 1984, p.4)


TABLE 4.

(ACCIDENTS BY DAY OF WEEK, HAWAII, 1984)

NUMBER..............................................................................................PERCENT
2,434.............................................................................................................13.8%
2,316.............................................................................................................13.1%
2,304.............................................................................................................13.0%
2,488.............................................................................................................14.1%
2,979.............................................................................................................16.9%
2,874.............................................................................................................16.3%
2,262.............................................................................................................12.8%
TOTALS.........................17,657............................100.0%

FATAL ACCIDENTS

NUMBER..............................................................................................PERCENT
22..................................................................................................................17.3%
8.....................................................................................................................6.3%
15..................................................................................................................11.8%
20..................................................................................................................15.8%
18..................................................................................................................14.2%
22..................................................................................................................17.3%
22..................................................................................................................17.3%
127...........................................................................................................1 0 0. 0%

(Department of Transportation, Hawaii, 1984, p.14)


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PERSONAL OBSERVATION

Problem:

The problem is that I speed. To be more specific, I speed approximately 5 to 10 mph over the speed limit. Normally, I speed because I seem to always be late. But ofcourse, that is not always true. I also enjoy the sensation of speeding. Listening to certain types of music when I am driving evoke risk-taking and daring moods influencing me to speed. For example, Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins immediately arouses precarious moods from me.


Also, when I am angry before getting into the car; I tend to take more risks and speed a bit faster when driving. Thus my affective state determines my aggressiveness on the road. For example, my affective state is one of anger. I am driving on the freeway 10 to 15 mph above the speed limit although, I feellike driving faster. Then, suddenly, a car swerves into my lane without warning. A flare of anger passes through like ramming into the back of his or her car. I want to yell out and cuss at the driver and a few bad words cross my mind. I want to say them aloud, but I am a christian and my morals inhibit me from behaving as such. Still angry, I mutter a few words like "stupid, dumb driver, don't know how to drive..." and then try to get on to another lane to pass the driver. In this occassional situation, I have started with the affective state of anger, had a situation arise that prompted the anger to be revealed, cognitively thought about the stupidity of the driver and then resorted to sensory motor behavior by muttering and switching lanes. However, I did not carry through in behavior what I had wanted to do (ram into the other car) because of my inhibitions.


Inhibitions:

What are my inhibitions? There are several. The fear of being stopped by a police officer for speeding, fear of becoming involved in an accident, the traffic speed limit laws (although this in itself is not inhibitdy enough), and my belief in Jesus Christ. Now, unlike Dr. Jakobovits, I do not believe I will go to hell for speeding; however, I do believe that it is wrong (sin) to break the law. One day, I decided to see what would happen if I stayed with the speed limit wh~ there was no traffic to make me. I was on the Likelike highway on a Sunday morning driving at 35 or 45 mph (it changes at places). To my surprise, inside of two minutes, 16 cars passed me. It wasn't very busy and there weren't always cars around, but the cars would catch up to me, tailgate me briefly and then switch lanes and speed past me. I was also surprised to find out that I didn't feel pressured to keep up.


Do I still speed?

Yes. I don't own a car anymore so I don't drive regularly. Perhaps, if I drove regularly, I could apply behavior modification principles and stop speeding. The inhibitions, although not strong alone, are there to be applied. But since I don't drive often, when I do, I don't think about my inhibitions or try to modify my behavior. But I do believe it is possible for me and for you to stop speeding if the effort is made.


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SUMMARY/CONCLUSION

Well, we are now at the end of the paper. So far, I have taken you through the definition of aggression and the forms of road aggression, personal and researched examples of it, and statistics about factors contributing to accidents. We have looked at several reasons for speeding, including physiological effects, risk-taking and lack of inhibitions, as well as some personal examples. I have shared statistics on tragic accidents nationwide and for here in Hawaii. We have seen that there are specific days and months of the week and year respectively that appear to consititute more accidents. I have also discussed my own personal observations including the problem, inhibitions, and results (Do I still speed?). In conclusion then, I have found this topic and research more rewarding and useful than I had earlier expected. I do expect to apply what I have learned towards my driving habits, particularly in the area of speeding. I hope that at this time, you too have found the information useful and relevant to your own life and will resort to the practical applications of it.


PRACTICAL APPLICATION

I thought it would be appropriate to share how I plan to modify my behavior of speeding. I have aleady shared some of my inhibitions with you. I plan to use a combination of them to reinforce positive behavior (not speeding) and punish negative behavior (speeding). Since I have a fear of colliding, I will use the information I have learned to supplement that fear by telling myself that by speeding, I am increasing my chances of colliding and that speeding is the third highest contributing factor for accidents. In addition, I can tell myself that it is wrong to break the law and speeding is just that. I am sinninq by speedinq. I will tell myself that it is better to be a little late than to never arrive at my destination because of an accident. If I each my destination without speeding, I shall reward myself with a treat. Through the use of these cognitive processes, I will reinforce the behavior of not speeding and therefore discontinue the behavior.


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GLOSSARY

affective state the state of your inmost character characterized by striving feelings such as drives, mood, inner emotions, needs, feelings, and attitudes. Its functions include directing, organizing and energizing.
behavior actions that involve the musculature of the body, including the muscles used in speech, as well as other actions, such as thinking and feeling.
behavior modification an approach to behavioral change using principles of positive and negative reinforcement and punishment.
cognition internal mental processes including knowing, thinking, perceiving and imagining.
fatal causing death or destruction.
inhibition personal taboos against engaging in violent behavior (or any aggressive behavior.)
major traffic accidents an accident in which the total property damage involving a motor vehicle on a public highway amounted to at least $300.00 or one in which a person sustained injury as a result of the accident.
road aggression aggressive behavior displayed ,on the road or any public travel way where there are motor vehicles.
sensation seeking a generalized need to pursue varied, novel and complex stimulation.
sensory-motor the external part of one's personality which obeys the cognitive and serves the affective. Its functions include the physical, social, and interpersonal.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Collett, P. and Marsh, P. (1987). Driving Passion, Psychology Today, p. 16-24.

DHHS Publication (1985). Clinical Treatment of the Violent Person, 85-1425 Su Doc# HE 20.8102, v.81.

Farley, F., Gale A., and Strelau, J. (1985) The biological bases of personality and behavior, BF 697 .B48 v. 1, Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.

Hawaii, Department of Transportation (1984). Major Traffic Accidents, HE5614.3 H3 H38a, Land Transport Facilities.

Huck, J. and Kaus, M. (1987). Gunplay on the freeway, Newsweek, p. 18, AP 2N489.

Monahan, J. (1981). Predicting Violent behavior, RC 569.5 .V55 M65 v.114, Sage library of Social Research and Publications.

Parsons, R. and Wicks, R. (1983). Passive and aggressiveness RC 569.5 .P37, Brunner/Mazel Inc.

Pfohl, S. (1978). Predicting Dangerousness, RC 569.5 .V55 P44, DC. Heath and Company.

Richardson, R. (1918). Psychology and pedagogy of anger, BF 575 .A5R5, Warwick and York Inc.

Statistical Report 205, County Trends in Hawaii, (1987). HA4007 .H357

US Department of Transportation, (1983). Household travel patterns and expenditures, Su Doc# TD 10.11:50/83-8, and Special Programs Administration.

US Department of Transportation, (1979). Travel behavior and market segmentation of low and middle income residents of Virginia, Su Doc# TD 1.20/7:50-79-40, Research and Special Programs Administration.

Ibid.

US Department of Transportation, (1986). National Transportation Statistics, Annual Report, Research and Special Programs Administration.

Lt. Yuen, (March 7, 1988) Interview--Officer for Traffic Investigation.


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