Report 2
TailGating Behavior
- Tailgating. We've all seen it before and most of us even
engage in it from time to
time, usually when we're in a hurry to get somewhere but also when we get
upset at fellow
drivers. When we tailgate, we give in to the temptation or rationalize away the dangers of
tailgating and behave in a dangerous and ultimately unjustifiable manner. The shear fact that we
can never have sufficient control over other drivers' actions to ensure safety should lead us to the
assimilation of defensive driving skills that preclude tailgating .
Remember, over three
million people are injured in automobile accidents every year. The big question is; what interferes
with the implementation of this insight. This is where traffic psychology comes in and provides an
efficient, feasible, parsimonious and theoretically sound means of affecting consciously what we
cognitively understand by often justify or unconsciously overlook.
- One of the theories of traffic psychology is that tailgating is an
attempt to force your will
over another driver. This is the result of a mistakenly over extended bid to obtain control over the
situation. This over extension is too readily engaged in because the preclusion of effective control
over others forces drivers to focus on themselves individually. This leads to one sided, single
perspective rationales that hod water in strictly prima facie ways. The bottom line in driving is
that controlling behavior is no where near as effective as avoidance behavior. Don't
try and control problems, avoid them altogether. Any racer will tell you that.
- Understanding these concepts and patterns of behavior thus allows us
to clearly view
tailgating as an attempt by one driver to force his will over another. The question of focus then
becomes what are the consequences of this and what recourse is available when tailgating
occurs.
- Looking at the first question of consequences, I feel that it is
important for people to
understand that physical danger and possible death are only the beginning of the problems that
tailgating can lead to. I believe that our choices in life, both conscious and unconscious, and the
actions that either spring forth or get suppressed by theses decisions define who we are. This
means that at any given moment, given the past history of our lives' individual journey, a dynamic,
constantly evolving paradigm is brought to a head and extrapolated based upon the current
situations fundamental properties. If the situation and your personal involvement are
fundamentally wrong then the extrapolation of your life becomes skewed and positive, healthy
growth is hindered or even negated. If the situation and your personal involvement are evil, then
your life comes to be built upon evil. Remember, anger, revenge, animosity, hate, fear
and doubt are all the minion of Satan and form his powers of deception. Are you angry when you
tailgate someone? Are you angry when someone tailgates you? Are you trying to get them back
for something they've done that you don't like (ie. revenge)? Are you one hundred percent sure
you have complete control over the situation? Can you EVER have
complete control over the situation?
- These are the questions you must ask yourself before you tailgate
someone, otherwise
you're not taking into account all the relevant factors. Once you do think about these things
however, what possible recourse could you Have? This is where you must make a choice
about how much you love yourself and what kind of person you really want to be. You
could get angry, upset, stressed out and pissed off, which would cause your body metabolically to
engage your "flight or fight" responses (medical school talk for increased blood pressure) and the
catabolizing (breaking down of body tissue to form other compounds) of
metabolic and
neurotransic precursors such as adenosine, choline and a host of others, OR you could chose to
defuse and defeat the whole situation by releasing the negative feelings (which would allow you to
chalk up a couple bonus points for correctly observing the fact that you have no control over
others). You could then cognitively employ counter measures (I suggest whistling, singing,
meditative repetition of positive vocalization etc.) And finally physically moving your vehicle
away from the original source of the problem (ie. the other guy). It might sound weird, but you
must have FAITH. Faith in the fact that you will now be a better person. Faith in the fact that
you must make the right decision and faith in the fact that as hard as it is to do this it IS the right
thing to do. Never forget, the righteous man's path is often the road
least traveled.
- This might sound a little all encompassing and difficult but that is
the nature of life. The great thing is that Traffic Psychology , by
analyseing the affective ,cognative, and sensory motor aspects of
actions is a tool that has been proven to be very effective at
accomplishing these ends and thus givess the lives of those who CHOOSE to
utilize it a distinctly higher level of QUALITY.
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