The Importance ofCommunication
The Importance of
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
MY SUMMARY OF KRISTIN'S REPORT: Kristin Subia (G6) Report
Kristin starts off by stating that every driver has the responsibility to attempt to communicate well with other drivers on the road. This attempts to assure a safer driving atmosphere. She gives examples of different kinds of situations such as making turns, changing lanes, yielding, tailgating, etc, and explains her idea of what would be the best way, or is the most common way to communicate with another driver while in this particular situation. She explains what our options are as far as immediate communication such as blinkers, horns, verbal communications, and gestures and facial expressions. As far as the effectiveness of these methods, according to Kristin, these are widely used and very effective, not only in our country, but around the world. I agree with Krisin when she says that all drivers must attempt to communicate with others in order to promote a safer driving environment. A lot can happen with miscommunication on the road, and I think we should all be aware of the universal signs that are used on the road before we even begin to drive. I also think that it is necessary to try to be polite on the road and support each other as we drive. This would probably minimize much of the accidents that happen as well as road rage.
MY SUMMARY OF ANDREW'S REPORT: Andrew Shapiro's Report
This report is about a study done on drivers who arrive at a four-way stop at the same time, and what gestures were used as communication purposes to signal to each other to proceed as well as which gestures were most effective. Mr. Shapiro states that there is no universal meaning for any one gesture, and this may cause miscommunication on the road with adverse results. He also mentions that it may be a good idea to know or try to perceive what the other driver's mood is like at that time, to reduce further annoyance or aggression (if any).
The result of his mini-observational study stated that "With less than one percent of the drivers (.61%) actually providing an obvious gesture, it was clear that most driver either abided by the "courtesy and common sense" (DMV, p. 19) of the California Vehicle Code or used means other than a gesture to communicate their right to proceed first or yield." He also noticed some drivers who were aggressive in nature at the four-stop and used their vehicles to demand right of way (most of which were young males.) He states in the report that it was apparent to him at the end of his study that no one gesture was used (as a universal gesture to proceed or yield the right of way). It seemed that there was a collection of gestures used (implying that the gestures were done on an unconscious level) which may have been the cause of some miscommunication.
Mr. Shapiro states that the purpose of this study was to see which gestures were widely used at the four-way intersection. He accomplished that task, as well as learning how rude and aggressive some drivers can be. He states that aggressive driving can be very dangerous and the results can even be fatal. I agree with him, as I have stated above in my summary of Ms. Subia's report, that we need more civility and politeness on the road. Mr. Shapiro states in his conclusion "Although I am not advocating that people fear driving, there is no sense in adding to the ever increasing pool of aggravated, frazzled "road warriors" that make things dangerous for us all. Lighten up and enjoy the ride. Courtesy, politeness, and attentiveness to other driver's mood will go a long way in providing a safer driving environment. When arriving at an intersection, make the encounter a pleasant experience: Be patient and make your intentions clear by using appropriate gestures."
MY SUMMARY OF KRISTIN E.'S REPORT: Kristin Evert's (G7) Report
Before Kristin starts her little experimentation on driver communication, she has a few predictions. These predictions are: "1) People in sports cars are more likely to exhibit "Car Communication" then people in non-sports cars.
2) Females are more likely to use waving or pleasant facial expressions to communicate than men.
3) Drivers in town (Honolulu) or near town are more likely to use "Car Communication" than drivers on the
Windward side.
4) Drivers are less likely to wave, use pleasant facial expressions, or "Physical Driver Communication" at
night; and are more likely to use "Car Communication" at night versus during the day."
"Car Communication" is when someone uses their car to communicate what they are thinking. "Physical Driver Communication" is facial expressions, hand gestures and verbal communications done while in the car to communicate.
She doesn't really mention why or how she came across these particular predictions. During the course of her observational study, she found no real hard evidence to support her predictions. The study was too small. She does state some recommendations
for a better driving atmosphere in her report. She recommends that people be taught (especially at an early age) not only how to deal with Road Rage, but also taught common courtesy. She came up with a little acronym: R.I.P. = Rethink-Implement-Practice. She explains
that rethinking must occur in order to change our attitudes towards being more positive. Implementing those actions that would promote postitive attitudes, and practice them to make them easier.
MY SUMMARY OF MARYELIZABETH'S REPORT: MaryElizabeth Pacheco's (G7) Report
MaryElizabeth's course of study was to observe, both as a driver and a pedestrian, the different communication skills used by drivers. Her prediction before her study was that communication is often misinterpreted, and one-sided, and this can effect or influence our driving in both positive and negative ways. She studied two types of situations: Overtaking and Changing lanes. She notices throughout the course of her study that blinkers and hand waves of acknowledgement were widely used and helpful to eliminate miscommunication, and when not used, actions can be interpretted and miscommunication can occur. Her recommendation for better driving communication is a UPC code, a Universal Public Communication Code for drivers, to reduce the risk of miscommunication.
MY CONCLUSION TO THESE FOUR REPORTS:
My conclusion is that communication is obviously very important on the road. It is essential to use communication in a postitive way in order to promote a safer driving environment. Although in the above reports, there weren't too many situations where negative communication was used, it still does occur. Also, not using any communication at all can lead to negative results. I believe that both negative and positive communications is learned early on, when we are young kids, driving with our parents, or family. Later it is learned through our friends, and the media. Society has a huge effect in the way we communicate on the road. The above reports state that they didn't notice too many bad gestures or bad verbal communication. That seems to be a good thing. But I think it is more important to look at ourselves as we drive and notice the types of gestures we use, and the verbal or facial expressions we use or want to use, and I think we would notice that it happens probably more frequently than we would like to believe.
LINKS TO OTHER REPORTS OR DISCUSSIONS ON THIS SUBJECT:
Here are 3 articles by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
But of particular interest is the article on Driver Aggression:
This article states that there are many different reasons why people experience aggression on the road. Some of their findings surprised me as I didn't think to consider some of these:
Congestion on the road, Being forced to take a high degree of interest in movements and behaviors of strangers, tailgating (a form of communication), misinterpretation, etc. The one that is most interesting to me is their point that cars are symbolic in many ways. It
could be a further exspansion of one's personality, an expression of how one wants to be perceived, a prized possession (therefore making the situation of putting your car at risk while driving a touchy one). I think all of these aspects have something to do with driver communication,
how we perceive ourselves as well as others, and how we react to that. This is an interesting article because if we can maybe understand a little more about how aggression occurs, or what makes it occur, than we could come up with solutions to that problem. I think communication is one
of the most important aspects of those solutions.
Here is a report by David Altenburg (G8):
In this report, David has good examples and situations related to the subject. Of particular interest to me is his term and explanation of "Cultural Localization". By this he means that certain communication skills can be used and interpretted differently depending on where you are at the time. Cities will differ from countrysides, as well as people differences. He also states that (as did others) being courteous on the road would lessen the chances of something bad happening.
REFERENCES TO ARTICLES ON SUBJECT:
Automobile Accidents. Law reporter, 193, v 36 n 7, 237.
Can your drivers communicate? Truck and bus transportation, 1994, v 58 n 2, 38.
Fukui, R., Nakamura, M., and Tsunomachi, H. Road Vehicle Communication System for Vehicle Control Using Leaky Coaxial Cable. leee communications magazine, 1996, v 34 n 10, 84.
Summary: The authors discuss a new road vehicle communication system that
provides continuous communication between vehicles and control
centers.
Haley-James, Shirley M.; Hobson, Charles David. nterviewing: A Means of Encouraging the Drive to Communicate. Language Arts, 1980, v 57 n 5, 497-502.
Rimington, Dame Stella. The Importance of Open Communication in Driving Change. Training and development in australia, 1998, v 25 n 6, 4.
Thiel, Randall R. A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Driver and Traffic Safety Education. Bulletin No. 96300. Wisconsin State Dept. of Public Instruction, Madison, 1996, 126.
ABSTRACT: Developed with the aid of driver and traffic safety educators throughout Wisconsin, this guide
provides administrative information, course objectives, topics, content, and student activities for driver
education courses. The guide combines the curriculum content from all instructional phases, such as
classroom, simulator, multiple-vehicle range, and on-street driving instruction. A variety of instructional
methodologies and activities are presented in order to encourage teachers to incorporate a wide range of
teaching practices. The guide is organized in five chapters, each containing references. The first chapter
provides introductory information about traffic safety education and its implementation in Wisconsin, along with
information on using the guide. The second chapter discusses administrative elements of driver education
programs. It includes program approval standards, a discussion of various instructional formats, and
scheduling considerations. In the third chapter, general beliefs about teaching traffic safety education, an
introduction to a variety of instructional strategies, and an extensive list of instructional topics, including
objectives, content, and student activities, are provided. The fourth chapter discusses integration with school
and communities, noting the significant impact factors outside driver education programs, such as peers,
other classes, family, and the community at large, have on student driving behaviors. The final chapter looks
ahead to anticipate the issues and trends driver and traffic safety education faces. An appendix contains
sections of the Wisconsin administrative code pertaining to driver education and 66 resources and references.
(KC)
To Prevent Harm. Insurance Institute of Highway Safety DC, 1978, 158.
ABSTRACT: Since 1969 the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety has concentrated on researching,
demonstrating, and communicating to the public methods of reducing highway losses. The Institute has
established a framework to classify the nature of each kind of loss (human, vehicle and equipment, and
environment) in relation to the three phases of the crash event (precrash, crash, and postcrash) and the crash
results. Precrash research has included work on drug or alcohol use in relation to driving, the effect of driver
training, the effectiveness of drunk driving "crackdowns," state policy screening for vehicles involved in
unlawful activity, and defects in vehicle design. In the crash phase, the Institute's work has examined the
contribution of such vehicle factors as size, passenger compartment characteristics, and restraint systems to
injuries and particularly to those injuries suffered by children in automobiles or by pedestrians or suffered in
accidents involving trucks or roadside structures. Postcrash research identified causes of vehicle fires and
explored the adequacy of emergency care. Projects on crash results have studied the severity of injuries and
their costs, motorcycle accidents, bicycle-motor vehicle collisions, pedestrian deaths, vehicular damage,
carbon monoxide poisoning, the cost effectiveness of safety measures, and conceptual frameworks for
highway loss problem solving. (Besides a bibliography of the Institute's publications and films on these
subjects, information is included on the board of directors and Institute staff.) (ELG)
Previous generations had different instructions, so it seems that they had to write more opinion about this subject than we did. I would have liked to do a report more like that. Doing more of my own personal experiment. Compared to those who had similar instructions, I feel I did a good job of researching, both journal databases and previous generations. It does take a lot of time. That was my main approach, because to me, it seemed that it was important to Dr. James to do research and read what others had to say on the subject. I feel my presentation of the report is understandable, not too fancy.
SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS:
First of all: Do not procrastinate. This isn't too hard, but it does require a lot of work, so don't wait until last minute. Also, don't be afraid to experiment with new things, as different search methods. It can be a little intimidating at first, but after you get the hang of it, it isn't very hard. I think that is why Dr. James makes us do it. To become familiar with something that is very useful. And last, don't feel overwhelmed, just do one thing at a time.
