By Raeder Kinney (G6)
--180 million drivers nationwide --40,000 traffic fatalities per year in U.S. --85% of all automobile crashes are due to human error --5 million major crashes per year in U.S. --Cost (medical, auto repair, insurance, lost wages) 150 billion dollars per year --1 pedestrian dies every 96 minutes in the U.S. --1 of 3 teenagers will have an accident during their first two years of driving(More statistics)
As you can see from the figures that I have presented above, America has a serious driving problem. Every one of these statistics is shocking. I am twenty four years old, and I haven't been involved in a major traffic accident yet. After learning of these shocking statistics, I consider myself extremely lucky. By the time both my parents were my age, they were involved in major traffic accidents of their own. My brother was involved in a major crash when he was just seventeen! Something needs to be done in the United States so that the number of traffic accidents and traffic fatalities can be reduced. The statistics suggest that most of us will be involved in a major traffic accident sooner or later. Rather than ignore the nation's driving problem, as drivers, we need to improve on our driving skills.
Driving is a skill. Just like any other skill, it requires practice and repetition in order to become good. Over time and after countless hours behind the wheel, most of us become pretty good drivers. It becomes "second nature" to most of us. It becomes a habit. Once we learn the act of driving eg. turning the wheel, stepping on the brakes, flashing our indicators, sounding our horn, it's easy. After experience, many of us can drive for several seconds without ever looking at the road. It's as if we know what's going on around us without actually being able to see. Anyway, it's not these skills that need to be improved upon. It is our affective, cognitive and sensorimotor skills that need to be improved. These three skills are often referred to as ACS skills. ACS is an acronym for Affective-Cognitive-Sensorimotor. Let me give you a brief description of each of the three components. Affective skills refer to overcoming the resistance to change eg. allowing a passenger to make suggestions. Cognitive skills refer to the ability to rationalize and analyze situations. Sensorimotor skills refer to actual actions eg. waving, showing the "bird."
Virtually all drivers know how to flash their indicators and turn their steering wheel. On the other hand, there is great variation among drivers' ACS skills. It is possible for two drivers to react to the same situation in two very different ways. For example, if someone cuts you off, what do you do? Do you retaliate by speeding up and cutting him off, or do you let it slide? My initial reaction would probably be to do the former, but the smart thing is to do the latter. Retaliation gets you nowhere, especially on the road. As drivers, we need to improve on our ACS skills so that we don't retaliate. It sounds easy and straightforward, but it's not. It takes a lot of practice. Quality driving circles will help us to improve upon our ACS skills. Sharing our driving experiences in quality driving circles will enable us to realize our weaknesses and will provide us with an opportunity to discuss ways to improve on them.
Kimberly also utilized a questionnaire that consisted of sixteen questions. Her questionnaire dealt with zones 4, 5, and 6 of Dr. Driving's chart of nine zones. Her questionnaire dealt mainly with self-control issues. Basically, by using the questionnaire, Kimberly could determine who in her QDC exhibits road rage. Kimberly also used her knowledge of traffic psychology to explain to the people in her QDC as to what exactly traffic psychology is and what road rage is.
It can't be determined whether or not Kimberly actually succeeded in her attempt to "change" her friends. To actually make a conclusion such as this, you would need to perform a long term, longitudinal study. Kimberly stated, "I can't force the people in my QDC to change. However, now at least their eyes are opened and ignorance is no longer an excuse. As long as they are aware that they are subjected to road rage, there is hope that they can change."
It's difficult to determine whether or not Michelle's QDC was a success. Like Kimberly, Michelle allowed the members of her QDC to realize their weak points. Michelle made it clear to her QDC members that recognition is the first and perhaps the most important step in the therapeutic process.
Like Kimberly and Michelle, Takeshi also helped make the members of his QDC more aware and sensitive to their own thoughts and actions while driving. It's not possible for me to determine whether or not Takeshi succeeded at making the members of his QDC better, more aware drivers.
It is hard to judge whether or not Kimberly, Michelle and Takeshi succeeded in "changing" the driving habits of their friends. Three sessions is simply not sufficient. Bad driving habits that have developed over years of driving won't change overnight. Follow-up sessions would be ideal.
When you get behind the wheel of an automobile, I feel that your driving reflects your mood. This is unfortunate. We all have bad days once in a while. Many times, we take our anxious, worried, hateful and sometimes violent emotions out on the road with us. This can be a real hazard. A "crooked" state of mind can sometimes result in offensive, senseless, impaired and down right dangerous driving. Let me give you an example which I'm sure each and every one of you can relate to. Last week, I got into an argument with my girlfriend. When I left home, I was pretty irate. I couldn't think straight. It just so happened that I had to go to work later that afternoon. Anyway, while driving to work, I must have been traveling at about 75 mph or so! The weird thing is, it didn't really affect me. I didn't care about the other drivers who were on the road. I continued to drive recklessly in total disregard for the safety of the others. I didn't really realize my recklessness until I ran a red light and was honked at! After hearing the horn, I finally realized the danger I was putting myself and the other drivers around me in.
Controlling your emotions is the key to better driving. If everyone on the road was happy, courteous, and safety conscious, our highways would probably be much safer. Quality Driving Circles are effective tools that can help drivers recognize their feelings, thoughts and actions while driving (ACS skills).
Meeting #1-
Both Harmony and Emmett felt as though they were pretty good drivers. Harmony stated, "I've been driving for eight years, what else is there to know?" Emmett stated, "Everyone always seems to get in my way." Jared didn't really have a reaction to my questions. But, he later stated that he was a pretty decent driver. I asked the members of my QDC to perform a simple self-witnessing exercise. They all agreed to take a tape recorder in the car with them and record the going's on.
Meeting #2-
Meeting #3-
Not only was this exercise fun, it made the three of them realize what kind of drivers they actually were. At the end of our third meeting, I again asked them what kind of drivers they perceived themselves as. None of them had the same answer. They all agreed that they needed to improve on their driving. This exercise made my friends more sensitive drivers. Recognizing their individual problems was easy. Actually practicing proper driver etiquette takes a lot of time and practice. You can't expect to change bad driving behavior overnight. But, you can quickly make drivers more sensitive and aware of their attitudes before they get behind the wheel.
Money is a major problem with the promotion of QDC's. Because most people deny the fact that they have a driving problem, they feel that promoting QDC's is unnecessary and a waste of money. The statistics that I mentioned earlier speak for themselves. A federal, state or city funded QDC program would be beneficial for us all.
Prior to conducting my own QDC, none of the members of my QDC knew what a QDC was. Public awareness is very important. As I stated earlier, QDC's can be advertised via television, radio and billboard. Also, information about QDC's can be found on the internet. Because of the fact that millions of people have access to the internet, information regarding QDC's can be found quickly and easily.
Many of us (including myself) should not have been issued a drivers license. It's easy to learn how to operate an automobile. Most of us can pick up on it very quickly. The hard part deals with the psychological aspect of driving. For instance, how do we react when confronted with a stressful situation while driving? The handbook doesn't teach you that. We need to learn the proper ACS skills ahead of time.
Prior to being issued a drivers license, it is my opinion that all prospective teenage drivers should be required to enroll in programs that teach them proper ACS skills.
Programs involving parents should also be promoted. Programs that inform parents about QDC's and ACS skills will not only benefit them, but also the kids. Parental reinforcement of ACS skills will be beneficial and very worthwhile.
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