Report

1.Tailgating

The basic argument the following people are having is that they do not like being tailgated and choose to cope with the situation in the following ways:

A USENET participant copes as follows: "I stab the throttle with much wheelspin, smoke and exhaust (engine has 122k miles and runs a little rich) and say bye bye to that a-hole. This causes me to grin ear to ear and really rounds out my day."

A USENET participant copes as follows: "Simply take your foot off the accelerator and let the car slow to about 20-40 depending on where you are. This lets you blow stress, it lets the guy behind know you don't appreciate him, and it's usually pretty safe."

A USENET participant copes by ignoring the tailgater but states being "rattled" by the whole experience.

All of these coping methods is an attempt to regain what they consider their justly space on the road because they feel they are being assaulted. Since they feel assaulted, they become angry, disturbed or "rattled" and react on these basis's. They are allowing the tailgater (an external force) to control them. The key to controlling a tailgating situation, from a traffic psychologist point of view, is that we have the power to choose what to make relevant in our life situations and what not to make relevant. These people are choosing to make external forces relevant, thereby allowing these external forces to empower them. The key is, no matter what the situation is that is going on around us, we should learn to allow ourselves to control ourselves, that is remain unattached to these external forces.

2.Car phones

The basic argument over the use of car phones is to have or not to have them.

A USENET participant states that, "To me, it's a symbol of how inconsiderate people have become, thinking that what they have to do or say on the phone is more important than the safety of the people around them. They can't possibly be paying attention to their driving and I believe it creates a safety hazard."

The opposing argument is: "It SEEMS that yes, using a phone in the car MIGHT make a driver more careless through divided attention. But I don't think it's a necessary consequence. In other words, many drivers could handle it without being less alert. For that reason I'm not sure about laws. Inexperienced drivers who get involved in a conversation can become careless as a result. There's no problem for experienced drivers."

From one perspective of a traffic psychologist, since the ultimate goal is to promote justly, healthy and ethical driving, there are numerous reasons why car phones are a hazard on the road.

1. There is no way to tell who is "experienced" enough to drive, dial, hold the phone, talk and react efficiently to sudden dangers.

2. Though it may be impossible to always keep full attention to driving, car phones serve as a contributing distraction.

3. It serves as another symbol of how caught up in ourselves we are. Just the possible truth that car phones MIGHT make a driver more careless, it is evident that the RISK should be eliminated!

A Solution: Vibrating pagers. When goes off, take exit, read who called, go to nearest phone and call if you need to. Of course some people will think, "What a nuisance and inconvenience!" Yet, what it is, is another example of resistance to change...for the better.

3.Fast Driving

The following issues on fast driving involve ideas on how to deal with the urge to drive fast.

A USENETparticipant states: "Drive at speed limit wherever you are and frequently glance at the side of the road just ahead of you. You'll get the sensation of speed even at 45 or 50." To which another person states, "That doesn't work for me, but this did, get a small, poorly handling under powered car with a stick. You may be going 40-55, but it feels like 80+ because of the crappy car! It's a blast, squeal around turns, etc.. and you're still going under the 'safe limit'."

A USENETparticipant states that: "The reason our speed limits are so ridiculously slow is because of the average American driver who wants to feel speed, and doesn't give a damn about actual driving. Teach these kids how to drive a car, not how to fool their bodies into thinking they are going fast. What kind of lesson is that???"

A traffic psychologist's approach to controlling the urge to speed may be to focus on suppressing or preventing the underlying stimulating patterns of feelings and thoughts that elicit the desire to speed. This may be done through conditioning, therefore, a driver's education program on how to control emotions and how to think ethically should be taught to all people who drive.

4.Road Rage

The following issue on road rage is: If another person accidentally or deliberately puts you in a state of danger, for example, almost killing you, is it suitable to direct your anger at them as long as you don't carry it out in action?"

A USENET participant states: "Anger kills the body and pollutes the mind!" To which his opponent argues, "I think your New Age crap about smiling when someone runs a stop sign almost killing you and your family, and getting mad at them makes me the problem, and not them, is a crock. The problem isn't the attitudes, but the actions. I control my actions. I don't take out anger on others on the road, so it doesn't matter if I get mad. Others take out their stupidity on me, and that is the problem." A USENET participant responds, "Your underlying attitude of anger is indeed a problem. You say you "don't take out anger on others on the road" yet you do! You get angry at them, you feel hostile, and you think bad thoughts about others. It does matter because your anger comes out as hostility and unfriendliness. This is not "psychobabble," just plain common sense and rationality. It won't hurt your masculinity or manhood to gain control over your emotions. If we call each other "stupid morons" (in our own mind), we live a life of disrespect and disregard for other drivers. It's obvious that this constitutes being out of control emotionally and morally. The real challenge is to try to feel compassion. This doesn't mean putting yourself in greater danger!! This is where you need to examine the rationality and objectivity of your thinking. Thinking and feeling is part of behaving. Even if you obey every law all the time and never make a mistake (hardly likely!), you are still not a good driver until you bring your savage emotions under control to your rationality and compassion."

It is not pertinent to anyone if one becomes mad and angry and chooses to not act on these emotions in a harmful way. The problem is, by not controlling these emotions, this person is directly harming oneself. Anger strains the body mentally and physically. The above individual depicts this as stated above, "Others take their stupidity out on me, that is the problem". This person's "peace" begins with others, for me, peace begins with me.

5.Slow Drivers

The following summaries entail people trying to deal with slow drivers.

A USENET participant advises on how to deal with slow drivers as "Why don't you pay less attention to annoying the other guy (the slow driver), and more attention to where you are going? It probably takes you as long to change your mirrors, as it would be to move into the other lane." As to which an advocate augments, "Precisely! Drivers who ENJOY fantasies of retaliation and punishment are really out of control. They make themselves vulnerable to becoming bullies on the road and perhaps to carrying out some violent act against others."

These are all good points. Instead of conjuring up ideas to control the other person's driving, by for example, aggression (or above, retaliation), one could think constructively of ways to get out of the situation, like what was said above, changing lanes. Changing lanes poses as a problem however, as well, due to differences of beliefs as to where everyone belongs on the highway. A USENET particpant describes a conflicting situation in which one person believes the left lane should be used for fast driving and another person stating that the left lane should be used for passing only.

A solution to this problem would be to re-establish the original law that the left lane be used for passing and not fast driving by law reinforcement and putting up signs specifically stating this.