In Chapter 4, Roth discusses risks on the street.  He points out that risk taking and risk avoiding are part of our everyday driving lives.  He discusses the link between our culture and risk.  Because in America we value competition so highly, risk is sure to be a main ingredient.  There are also lots of rewards for successful risk taking.  For example, saving time and satisfying egos.
 

    What I found most interesting about the chapter was his discussion of what Rothe calls Common Preference Rules and how the social role we play outweighs the objective information or the rules and laws of the road.
 

    Common preference rules are the shared social rules of the road.  They allow us to sustain self respect and considerateness with others that in certain situations will supercede the consieration of the laws.
 

    Rothe discusses data that came from three major British Columbia studies.  One on young drivers, one on seat belt wearers, and one on elderly drivers.  Four basic principles were extracted from the study.  The first one is regard for others overrules personal safety.  The book discusses an example where parents were called by their child's school to carpool children to a park.  Parents were told that each child would have to have access to and be in a safety belt.  But when the day came, not all parents complied with the safety belt rule.  Parents put 2 children in one safety belt or some children had no safety belts at all.  The school did not approve but did not want to create disharmony with parents and they wanted to preserve normal relations with community volunteers.
 

    The teenagers and seniors interviewed also reported taking risks to be socially accepted (in the teens) and to help out a friend or family in need (in the seniors).
 

    The second principle is images of self competence outweighs self doubt.  Teenagers who were afraid of certain driving conditions would never let on to his peers for fear of ridicule, and even seat belt wearers will sometimes not wear seat belts to support the self image of drivers who believe they are competent and reliable.  To some people wearing a seatbelt is an insult to their driving.
 

    The third principle is that good driving warrants risk taking.  The study interviewed the teenagers parents on how they considered themselves as drivers.  Nearly all said that they were cautious, patient, alert, and technically able.  The teenagers disagreed.  They considered their parents, fathers especially, as having a complete disregard of the law and safety.  The parents felt that signs of real driving are not found in driver manuals.
 

    And finally, the fourth principle, Risks for good reasons are normal.  Rothe talks about when parents tell their children to call them if they've been drinking and the parents will come pick them up, no questions asked.  But very rarely is it no questions asked.  The parents would show disappointment, displeasure, hurt, or shame.  Knowing this the teenager would rather riskthe chance of a car crash or getting pulled over by police rather than call their parents.
 

    Rothe also stated that seat belt wearers would not hesitate to unbuckle to comfort a child ro retrieve a map or book from the back seat.
 

    In conclusion, I found it interesting that we as motorists really do abide by our common preference rules or social rules over the law in many cases.  It proves that we act in accordance with the society that surrounds us and that we are not just products of regulated laws and rules.
 

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