Portrayals of Driving Behavior on TV:

The Teacher in the Box




Contents:

Instructions for report 2: Portrayals of Driving Behavior on TV

Introduction:

Observations:

Analysis and Evaluation:

Rating:

Writing this Report and How it has Influenced Me:




Introduction:

Introduction: In past years their has been a debate on whether violence on TV and movies have an effect on our behavior. Their have been many studies done on this subject. They have come to a conclusion that violence on TV and movies have a significant influence in our behavior. Now we have ratings for TV programs and clearer ratings for movies on TV. They tell us if their is violence, sex, nudity, adult themes, etc.. Now the question has been raised if the driving behavior that we see on TV influences the way we drive. If it does, should their be a rating system for driving. It is the goal of this class, psychology 459, to prove that TV does have an influence in the way we drive and that their should be a rating system for these programs. Television is our main source of information. We get the news on TV, learn the latest fashions, and especially for children we get our role models from TV. Think about it, the TV show "friends" has started many trends. From the way they dress to their haircuts! Now if 1 show can influence us this much think about how much all these car commercials, TV programs, movies, and cartoons that are being thrown at us in abundance can influence us. Many children get ideas and learn from watching TV. Many children are not able to tell fantasy from reality. They take what they see on TV as the truth. As adults we also do the same thing to a certain extent. We watch a program and take it as being the norm. People driving fast on the freeway in a TV program or in a movie and we accept it as the standard or accepted behavior when it really shouldn't be.

I am a Generation 7(G7) student doing a report on traffic psychology, however Generation 6, the generation before me has produced reports displaying the types of driving behavior that is on TV. I reviewed Jenifer Kaneshiro's, Kathy Subia's, and Kristy Kato's reports to try and pick up and learn from their research. What I found is that none of them had any trouble finding driving behavior portrayed on TV. As Kristy stated, "I began finding examples one after another." They where all able to find examples of driving behaviors that would have an effect on viewers. They were not able to find any good examples of driving behaviors. I feel that their are some shows that portray good driving behavior, but this just goes to show you how many programs portray bad driving behavior. I have done research of my own and have found 10 examples. I have taken the time to develop a rating scale for different types of driving portrayals. 

Observations:

  • "Top Gun"
  • Saturday
  • 10/11/97
  • 9:30 a.m.
  • Showtime ch.44
  • Movie

1.

In this movie there is a scene where Maverick, who is a fighter pilot, and Charlie, who is a fighter pilot instructor, get into a fight. Maverick gets on his motorcycle and speeds off. Charlie gets in her car and speeds off after him. They both are going at least 50mph in a residential area. During the pursuit Charlie runs through a red light as cars are just entering the intersection. The cars have to stop suddenly and she gets through the intersection fine. This is a movie about some of the most high tech fighter planes and their pilots. Because of this speed is definitely emphasized throughout the entire movie.

2.

This scene takes place somewhere in the country. A couple of thugs kidnap Daisy, a cousin of the Duke brothers. The brothers jump in their car and pursue the kidnappers. They are going at high speeds jumping hay barrels and making wild turns and spins. Other police cars join in the pursuit. All of them are going at high speeds. One of the police cars tries to make a jump over a dirt ramp and ends up in a tree. In the show no one is hurt and they even make it look funny.

3.

In this race the drivers are going at very high speeds around a race track. They are driving very close to each other. Many drivers rub their bumpers up against the back of the car in front of them. They make passes at very high speeds and try to get ahead of each other. At one point in the race one of the drivers hits the rear of a car in front of him and sends it spinning and it ends up crashing into one of the walls. The driver came out of it unhurt.

4.

This TV program showed a lot of high speed police car chases. One of those chases showed a teenage boy and girl in a stolen pick-up truck running away from a police car. They ignore stop signs and stop lights. They weave in and out of traffic and pass other cars on the shoulder and sometimes off the road. As they come to an intersection they do not slow down and try to go through a red light. They are hit by a semi-truck going across the intersection. They are killed on impact and the car is demolished.

5.

In the middle of the movie, two rival race car drivers, on their way to a dinner, decide to rent separate cars. They race the cars on a public street as if they were on a race track, bumping each other and hitting objects. When they reach the restaurant their cars look are beaten up and look as if they have been in an accident. No one was hurt in the scene and the two drivers acted as if nothing happened.

6.

In the beginning of this Nissan commercial, an old country man tells his wife he is going to town to buy a new car. He comes back with a Nissan Altima. He starts to do doughnuts in the dirt, yelling, "Yeee Haaa!" All of the animals in the barn is startled, and his wife yells, "What has gotten into you?" The old man replies, "I don't know, but I like it."

7.

This car commercial shows the Dodge neon as an amusement ride. People get in the car and speed off the screen. Another Dodge Neon Comes into the screen and people get out and the next people in line get in and speed off. It portrays the car as a fun ride and almost like a toy or a game that anyone can play.

8.

This car commercial shows the Chevy Blazer avoiding dangerous situations. The Blazer is on a winding road and their are stalled cars, falling trees, and a rock slide that it has to avoid. After it avoids all these things it shows the driver pulling into her driveway and stepping out of the car as if nothing happened.

9.

Their is a scene where a couple are driving home from a park. They had just finished playing basketball. On the way home the woman, Rosie Perez, is happy because they just won some money. She is unable to control her sexual urges. She jumps on his lap while he is driving and the car is in motion. He is unable to see the road clearly and swerves back and forth.

10.

In this scene a husband and wife are running away from these men who are trying to kill them. They get into a truck and drive off at top speed. The other men jump into three different vehicles. One of them is a sports car, the other is a sedan, and the third is a semi-truck with a trailer attached. They box the husband and wife in, one to each side and the semi-truck in the back. They try to run the couple off the road by hitting them with the side of their cars. The semi is ramming the couple from behind. Eventually the man in the sports car runs off the road and hits the man that was on the otherside. The semi-truck with its big load looses control and flips over until it falls of the side of a bridge.

Analysis and Evaluation:

1. On 10/11/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) saw the movie "Top Gun" on Showtime (ch. 63). The movie "Top Gun" portrayes speed as power. Througout the entire movie everyone was trying to go faster and compete with each other. Their were scenes in the movie where road rage was pressent. All of the driving scenes in this movie showed them speeding. For the viewers, especially for young teenagers, the one scene where Charlie chased Maverick in a residential area at high speeds almost gave them permission to drive recklessly and at high speeds because of passion. I feel that it might make young teenagers or adults for that fact, to drive recklessly if they are emotionally stressed. This portrayal is bad and dangerous.

2. On Monday 10/6/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) watched the TV program "The Dukes of Hazard on TNN (ch. 63). This show has been a favorit of mine since I was a little kid. I remember the Dukes' brothers jump into their red car called the General Lee and speed away from the county sheriff. Now that I look back on this show with a greater knowledge about road rage I question some of the principals being showed in this TV series. Every show is about the Dukes' brothers running away from the law. What type of morals is this portraying to young viewers. I know when I was young I wanted to do those turns, jumps, and stunts that was portrayed in the show. I don't think that young viewers are able to identify that it is not reallity. They may take it as how to drive in the real world. This could be very dangerous in the future and may provolk someone to try and run from the police.

3. On Sunday 10/5/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) watched a Auto Racing event on TNN (ch.63). This was a NASCAR race. This is a special case where speed and dangerous driving is portrayed. When people see these profesionals driving at these high speeds around the track passing other cars to be the first one accross the finish line, they may take these driving attitudes onto the road with them. What they don't take into account is that these are profesional drivers who have been trained to do this type of driving. Not everyone is capable to doing what these guys can do. Another thing that is overlooked is that it is in a controlled area and that the risk and danger are minimized. Out in the real world, on the road, these precausions are not taken. You don't have mechanics constantly checking your car and a ambulence right their if something happens. Also these cars are built for safety. Our cars are not built for safety to that degree. I feel that this type of races does promote road rage and does influence how people drive.

4. On Thursday 11/13/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) watched a TV special called "World's Scariest Police Chases" on FOX (ch. 3). This shows what can happen if you try to run from the police. These are real police chases. Their are no actors, everything is real. This is a very good show in my opinion. I feel that it may persuade many people who ever have a notion to run form the police not to. Especially one where a couple who stole a truck tried to run from the police. They were going at very high speeds. They reached an intersection where the light was red, they didn't slow down and tried to get through the intersection. They didn't see a big semi-truck comming and were broad-sided by the semi. They were killed instantly and the car was worse than totalled. It was demolished. The image of the truck being hit by the semi-truck is one that has stuck in my head and I am sure it will stick in the head of other drivers. It promotes good driving behavior and good morals.

5. On Sunday 10/5/97 I watched the movie "Days of Thunder" on HBO (ch. 42). This is a show that promotes road rage. It is showing two profesional race car drivers who do anything to get ahead of the other. It portrays hate and agression. They are shown driving recklessly and at high speeds. They don't care what they hit and are not thinking of the consequences that could happen by their actions. They do not take into consideration the safety of others on the road, their main focus and goal is to get ahead of each other and get to their destination first. This has no morals and is promoting road rage to all viewers young and old. It gives them permission to go out and drive fast, cut people off as long as they get to their destination first.

6. On Monday 10/20/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) saw a car commercial showing the Nissan Altima. This commercial encourages reckless driving by displaying it as fun. It promotes bad driving by showing the most conservative and knowledgeable person (elderly) taking part in bad driving behavior. This makes this type of driving widely acceptable by all generations in that the elderly is held with the highest respect. The old man justifies his behavior by saying that he likes it. This promotes people to follow their urges while on the road. And this can lead to people displaying their frustration in the form of aggression.

7. On Monday 10/20/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) saw a car commercial for the Dodge Neon. This commercial made driving seem fun and the car like an amusment ride, and because it portrays driving as an amusment ride people associate driving with excitement, thrilling, and they might even go as far as daring. It does not go into any moral issues. It is more of a style and attitude towards driving. This might encourage drivers of all ages to make driving exciting, thrilling and daring. This could be a dangerous perception.

8. On Monday 11/24/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) saw a car commercial on FOX (Ch. 3) that featured the Chevy Blazer. The driving attitude that was portrayed in this commercial was not bad. It was trying to tell us to buy a car that has good handling and that is safe. This is shown by the Blazer avoiding all of these unexpected obstacles; trees falling, rock slides, and stalled cars around blind curbs. It showed a driving style that not many other commercials show, that is that of defensive driving. This is a very good thing. It does not go into any moral issues. It just shows the woman getting out of the car as if nothing has happened. They get across a message that it is a safe car and it will get you to where you are going safely and you don't have to worry about its handling.

9. On Saturday 11/25/97 I (Marshall Miyoshi) watched a movie called "White Men Can't Jump". In this movie their is a scene that can influence alot of drivers out there. In this scene it shows a couple in a interacting in a sexual manner while driving a car. The attitude that this is getting across is that sex is the most important thing and driving is second. The man who is played by Woody Harrilson is trying to drive a car while his girlfriend is on his lap, blocking his view, and trying to get his attention on her instead of the road. This is portraying a very dangerous style of driving. This is highly immoral and may be easily reproduce on the roads that we drive on. This is extremly dangerous.

10. On Sunday 11/30/97 I saw a movie on PPV (ch. 47) called "Breakdown". It shows cars trying to run each other off the road. They are going at very high speeds and are crashing into each other. The driving attitude actually and deliberatly trying to hurt another using a car or vehicle. A semi-truck was one of the vehicles trying to run a car off the road. The semi-truck implied power over smaller cars. This portrays very dangerous driving. This is a highly immoral thing to do just because they are intentionally trying to hurt someone using their cars and trucks. This is something that can not be tollerated in society. This is definitely fictional. I don't believe that an adult would try to do something like this simply because of the moral issue. However it does happen. A little child can see that this is not real but may get the impression that a bigger car is better than a little car, and that the little car has to watch out for the bigger cars.

Rating:

In this section, I will rate each of the bad driving episodes. Each episode will be rated on four factors: 1)the central theme, 2)riskiness, 3)realism, and 4) driving behavior. Theme represents how much each episode focuses on driving. If driving is the main focus of what is happening or just part of the scene. Riskiness indicates the risk involved if actually imitated. How dangerous if would be. Realism indicates the chance that it will be imitated. Driving behavior indicates if the scene promotes good or bad driving. The scale for theme, riskiness, and realism will be a 0 through 5 scale. 0 being the most positive, and 5 being the most negative score. For driving behavior I will give it a score of; (+) for positive, (-) for negative, and (=) for neutral.

1. Theme:3
Riskiness:5
Realism:5
Behavior: (-)

2. Theme:4
Riskiness:4
Realism:3
Behavior: (-)

3. Theme:5
Riskiness:2
Realism:1
Behavior: (-)

4. Theme:5
Riskiness:5
Realism:5
Behavior: (+)

5. Theme:5
Riskiness:5
Realism:2
Behavior: (-)

6. Theme:3
Riskiness:1
Realism:1
Behavior: (=)

7. Theme:3
Riskiness:0
Realism:0
Behavior: (=)

8. Theme:4
Riskiness:2
Realism:1
Behavior: (+)

9. Theme:2
Riskiness:4
Realism:5
Behavior: (-)

10. Theme:4
Riskiness:5
Realism:2
Behavior: (-)

Writing this Report and How it has Influenced Me:

I am a person who likes to watch TV and Movies. I also like to watch the new commercials that come out during the Super Bowl and all of the other major sporting events. I watch TV everyday. I have a TV in every room in my house including my bedroom. I watch TV when I wake up and before I go to sleep. When I first was assigned this report I was very enthusiastic and excited. It was something that I enjoyed to do. I wasn't sure what I was going to learn but I knew it would be fun.

After I started watching some programs and movies I started to notice all of the bad driving behavior in the shows. These are all shows that I have seen before and programs that I have watched for many years, but this is the first time I really started to understand what Dr. Driving is trying to tell us about the bad driving behaviors that we learn from watching these programs. These driving behaviors are the same behaviors that when I watched before made the movie fun and exciting. I used to try to imagine myself doing some of these things that they do on the TV. I have never tried any of them but I know of some friends who have. Now that I think about it, I don't think my friends would have tried those things if they did not see it on TV.

Modeling is one of the ways that we learn to do things. I feel that this is very true. If we see someone doing something that we like or we thing is cool we will try to copy it. This is the same thing with watching TV. If some famous person starts wearing her hair a certain way everyone wants to change their hair to that style. I feel that this is also true for driving. When we see someone driving a certain way that we think is exciting and cool, we will try to imitate that behavior. This is especially true for young kids. When they see this driving behavior on TV they are probably going to think that is how you are supposed to drive. Eventually when they get their license, that is the type of attitude they are going to be bringing to the road. This could be one of the main causes for Road Rage.

This report has made me more aware of my driving behavior and how I view others driving behaviors. It has made me realize that what we see on TV is not how or could ever be in the real world. I will definitely talk to kids about what they see on TV and try to make sure that they understand that what they watch on TV is not how it really is. Their is a lot of responsibility when it come to driving. I will also try to monitor what my own kids watch on TV and try to be a good role model for them.

With all of the road rage that is going on right now people will become more educated about the subject. Just like when violent crimes started increasing, people did something about the violence on TV. As the Road Rage increases I feel that people will want to have ratings on bad driving on TV. For this to happen though, we need to educate these people on the subject of Road Rage. I feel that Dr. Driving and his Generation students are helping to make a difference in educating people across the nation on this problem. If we keep plugging away I feel that eventually we will minimize the problems of Road Rage.

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