Kristy Kato's report on being a driving buddy was very clear and right to the point. I like the way she weaved together her definitions of a personality make-over and a driving buddy because of the goal to change one's driving behaviors. She later adds her own experiences while driving and describes how she herself would like to change her driving behaviors.
I really liked Mr.Murakami's report on being a driving buddy. What I really admired was the way he described the very details of his trip with his subject. He emphasized the minor details in which made it not minor at all. Chris later adds on his second trip with his subject and includes it in his report. Murakami's suggestions to his subject was truthful and honest. He later suggests to his driver how to better improve his driving skills with certain techniques.
One word that describes Ms. Lee's report is "simple." Although simple is plainly simple, her report was right to the point. I really like reports that are right to the point without any 'dilly dally.' I really enjoyed reading her report due to the fact that her report describes what a driving buddy is and her experience on the two road trips.
The first day of being a driving buddy was very interesting. It was a Friday afternoon during traffic time and we were rushing to go to the airport to catch a flight coming from the University of Hawaii at Manoa dorms. The driver hates rushing and if anything or anyone gets into his way, he turns into a road rager.
There was one incident in which the stop light turned green and he was trying to turn quickly to avoid the yellow light and the car next to us happens to cut in front of us. My subject was so enraged that he sped up to catch up to the car who cut him off and cut in front of him. His rebellious act caused the other driver to act rudely as they both were right next to each other, side by side yelling and cussing at each other. I was so embarrassed and so in a rush that I told my driver that we needed to go and that this act was not necessary. He then told me why he did the things he did and why he reacted in such a manner. He stated that the driver who had cut him off almost hit him. My subject wanted to get back at him to make him realize what he had done to him. The reason why he came next to him and started yelling and cussing at him was because he wanted to show him how dumb he is for cutting him off. He also wanted to let the other driver know that he was not very pleased for that little stunt he did.
After that incident, the driver was so upset of the thought that he did not continue his fight with the œcut man? that he decides to get upset at every little thing that went wrong on our trip to the airport. Some examples were missing the green light and stopping at a yellow light, drivers driving really slow, and deciding which road to take to get to the airport faster. I asked him why he was so upset at everything and he replied with "because of that stupid car back then and I am in a rush!"
After the trip, I sat down with my driver to discuss his feelings of what happen and why he was feeling the way he did. My subject explained that he was in a rush to get somewhere which already puts him on the edge. When someone cuts him off it just helps trigger or set off the rage even more. The rage is still in his blood until he has reached his destination and later feels relieved.
Our second trip was a bit more mellow than the first. This time I was trying to help him drive in a calm manner. I told him at the beginning of this experiment that I would be conducting his driving during our second session and when it came around, he did not like the idea of me telling him what to do. Later in our trip he finally gave in to my suggestions and comments. Our trip was from the airport to the University of Hawaii at Manoa dorms on a Sunday night.
The driver was very cooperative when I suggested some behaviors in which was appropriate while driving. As soon as he started driving beyond the speed limit, I would warn him that he was driving beyond the speed limit in which he needed to control his speeding. He then asked why and stated that there was nothing to worry about because there was hardly any cars on the road. I made him realize that it did not matter if there was hardly any cars on the road because we could easily get into an accident all by ourselves. It was a quiet night with no accidents on the road so he was very willing to listen to what I had to say.
One funny thing about our second road trip was that he was very cautious in the way he drove. I guess he knew that he was to do everything I wanted him to do and avoided the suggestions and comments by driving carefully and legally. He was not the kind of person that would listen to a person?s comments and directions while he was in the seat. So instead of me telling him what to do, he took matters into his own hands and have me not say a thing because of his perfect driving in which I can not say a thing.
After the experiment and the second trip, I asked my subject why he was driving almost perfectly after hearing my first comment of him driving too slow. He apologized for not being the open minded person in which I wanted my subject to be. He just could not listen to my comments and suggestions because he was so used to of his driving that he thought that there was no room for improvement even though he admitted that he had an aggressive driving problem.
There was a huge difference between the two road trips. The first road trip seemed like it more real than the second. The driver knew he was under the microscope and did not mind being the subject. He was very open and honest when it came to his thoughts and feeling towards certain incidents on the road. He was brutally honest and a great participant. There is one problem in which I encountered with while doing this project; I knew the person too well. I knew he was the type of person that would not listen to a person who would tell him what to do or how to drive. So in order for him to avoid my comments he knew he needed to drive perfectly. His driving on our second trip made a huge difference in the way it was supposed to happen. But then I just realized that this was an experiment in which anything could happen.
I can honestly say that this was a very interesting report. My steps towards this report was to first find my subject. I easily found a driver but I should have made sure that he was a driver perfect for this report. I should have been more picky when deciding which driver I should use to help me do this experiment. I knew that I had a very œopen? driver but I never realized that I also had a œstubborn? one. I did my report on different times of the day on a weekend. I suggest that this experiment should emphasis the details of what time of day it is and the situation in which the driver is in. My driver was very important in explaining why he did the things he did and his feelings towards the action. I also think that it is very important to know the driver?s feelings and thoughts while driving. One more important detail in which a buddy must accomplish is the aftermath of the experiment. Writing down notes after the trip is always good to explain the things in which the driver needed to express while not behind the wheel.