Feelings of frustration and anger often disrupts our sense of well-being in our everyday lives. However, when this occurs while we are driving, the hostile and aggressive state then affects the actions taken on the road. While driving, we must have had a time when we experienced road rage while driving on the busy congested highways of the city. We have at some point in our driving experiences found ourselves with that sensation of intense anger, frustration, and even hate. We then want to release this trapped rage and we do so usually by driving like a maniac, taking it out on other drivers through the use of colorful language or we simply keep it in and let it pile up inside of us. All of these options mentioned are very unhealthy and do more harm than good.
We all know that these feelings of anger, frustration, and hate alone are not very healthy, therefore, experiencing these unhealty emotions while on the road makes matters even worse. Dr. Driving, an expert on the field of traffic psychology, has named these negative feelings road rage. Not only is it dangerous to ourselves but it is also dangerous to others as well. Through Traffic Psychology, we are able to see just what exactly angers us, why it angers us, how it affects our driving, and what we can do about it.
In my report, I will discuss the pages that are set up by Dr. Driving. These pages all contain valuable information that was obtained by Dr. Driving through the use of research, interviews, surveys, observatins and so on. He has dedicated time and energy into this field. He makes his findings available to practically anyone by putting up cites on the internet. His hard work and dedication on the topic of Traffic Psychology is shown by the information made available to us. His aim is to make the roads safer for everyone by trying to instill the aloha spirit in every driver. The most important things that we must always realize is that the other driver is a human being just like us. We aren't the only ones with road rage. Road rage isn't just an individual problem. Even though we are able to control our rage, it could be someone else's rage that could affect our safety because road rage is everyone's problem.
Along with the cites that he has put up on the internet, Dr. Driving and his wife also make Traffic Psychology available to those without a computer by their book entitled, Inner Power at the Wheel. He has put the chapters found in the book on this cite. There are fourteen chapters in the book, four of which are available online. This page gives the readers an idea of what is in the book written by Dr. Leon James and Dr. Diane Nahl. By reading the title of the chapters, the reader is given an idea of what is contained in the book and what information can be obtained. The reader can then decide if the book is useful in their quest for driving improvement. The book aims in making the readers of the book better drivers by changing the driver's outlook on driving. The title of the chapters trigger interest and the person who reads it would know what to expect from the book. At the end of the list, there is the Book Synopsis which describes the problems of drivers and how the doctors touch upon the problems. It discusses the ways that the doctors dealt with these problems by offering solutions that can actually be implemented by the driver while driving.
By writing this book, Dr. Driving and his wife are better able to give their ideas and opinions about the topic of Traffic Psychology. Reading this book teaches people about the characteristics of road rage and what one can do to treat this problem. The book makes the reader more aware of feelings and actions felt while driving by mentioning the common ways people act on the road. The book deals with the psychology of a person and attempts to change their perceptions about driving. They try to turn their anger into positive actions instead of negative actions that have the potential of hurting others on the road. By altering their emotions while driving, they can also alter their actions. By being more calm and collected, a driver has the ability to make clear and rational choices. They can also apply this sort of anger management outside of driving making them better people. By reading this book, the reader benefits not only on the road, but in other aspects of life as well.
Reading this page, I am able to realize just how much driving relates to our emotional and psychological states. Reading some of the titles of the chapters, I know that this book can pertain to my driving personality. Although I try to be a careful driver, I do find myself getting upset which then causes me to get aggressive and vengeful. I know that by reading this book I can then be more aware of my emotions which in turn will make me more aware of my actions. Not only will this benefit me but it will also benefit the other people who I share the road with, not only with other motor vehiclists but also pedestrians, bicyclists, and motor cyclists. There is also a chapter about becoming a traffic psychologist which is chapter thirteen. I also liked the little cartoons that were used to fancy up this page. For instance the eye in the book synopsis, really caught my attention. It was sort of telling me, "Hey, take a look at this." It also helped to make a point, which is that we should be self-witnessing drivers.
The many different places that Dr. Driving was interviewed at are all listed on this page. It goes to show how widespread the growing concern in driving safety is becoming. The places he was interviewed went from San Diego to Pittsburgh to Kihei. The concern of aggressiveness on the road is shown through the interviews which is found on an upcoming page. The list of places also show that the problem of road rage is not present only on the roads of Hawaii but practically everywhere. However, it seems that the problems that drivers have from different places are very similar. The drivers of foreign places also react in very similar fashions to us. What is probably different is the intensity of road rage. I'm sure that a driver in another country gets more upset and frustrated because they have more traffic which is often accompanied by intense honking. Thank goodness that really isn't a problem here. Our horns are hardly ever used. We reserve that for people we know, sort of as a "hi" honk, and for people who have annoyed us to the utmost degree, the "@$$hole" honk. I suppose people with bigger cities have a harder time in traffic.
The various places shown here gives us a sense of not feeling alone. Hawaii's traffic problems must be remedial compared to the really big cities of the mainland. Hello! Kihei's traffic is nothing compared to Oahu's! If there is traffic in Kihei, it is usually because of road construction or tourists. I should know, because I came from Maui. This page just shows how widespread the topic of traffic psychology is. Dr. Driving was interviewed at many various places. By hearing the problems of drivers from all over, we can have a better idea of what it is like for others. We get an idea of what they have to deal with on the roads they travel. They have so many more roads than we do here. Their rage must be immense! We should be glad that at least we are able to see the many beautiful colors of Hawaii while we are driving. This alone is a calming factor that is at our advantage because we live on such a beautiful island. Imagine if it was all just concrete?!? That would really give me rage!
When I saw the list of media places, I was sort of surprised. I wasn't aware that people were genuinely concerned with road rage. Everyone gets upset while driving but I didn't know that some people are actually really trying to make a difference. It sort of made me want to give road rage management a try. Increase the peace right?!! What a better way to start than in your car, on the road, on your way to work or school? It's great to know that some people are taking on an initiative. I know that I can always use some improvement on my personality and try to better myself. I never before thought of doing it by getting rid of my road rage. Perhaps if I learn enough about this subject to make myself a superb driver, then maybe I could then in turn teach others to relax while driving. God knows we already have enough grumpys on the road. Why not make more happys?!
The three step program is introduced! The three step program consists of AWM. The "A" stands for "Acknowledge", the "W" stands for "Witness" and the "M" stands for "Modify". These three groups are further explained by being divided up into three sub-categories. "Acknowledge" is subdivided into "attitude, emotional-control and altruism". "Witness" is subdivided into "knowledge, judgement, and wisdom". Finally, "Modify" consists of "alertness, calmness, and kindness". By using calming colors such as pink as the background color of this page, Dr. Driving gives the reader a sense of being calm. He makes the page more user-friendly by using bold text that is centered to identify the subgroups and by creating links to more available information about the subgroups.
Through awareness, we can then begin to work on our actions. By using the AWM method, we have the opportunity to change our bad driving habits. We can take a closer look at ourselves and our driving personalities. We are also made more aware of our wrongs and therefore modify our terrible driving habits into more productive habits. Using the AWM method results in releasing the rage that is brought about while driving. We can focus on our psychological state and then adjust our physical state. When we free ourselves, we make ourselves healthier in body through safety as well as in mind because held in aggressiveness will be gone. We then become more calm, considerate, alert drivers. It is better to drive in a clear state of mind than to drive with anger and frustration cluttering our heads.
I really liked the little cartoon for "Modify" which was a cartoon of the 7-up dot, I think. That was really cute. His cute dancing got my attention and made this page more interesting to look at. By being aware of my actions, I can realize that my attitude is not right. Once I have admitted this fact, I am then able to work on modifying by attitude so that it is healthier. When I get upset, it does no good for anyone. I am just making things more complicated for myself when I don't need to. There is a more constructive way to deal with complications on the road. By modifying my attitude, I will do myself, as well as others on the road, a favor. I will be able to concentrate more on my driving and less about my feelings of anger. In short, the AWM method gives me a way of calming myself down when I feel like running everyone over. I can stop and analyze my feelings of frustration and then deal with it in a healthier manner. Besides, my car ain't no Big Foot.
Here we find the many problems that were encountered on the road by real-life drivers. It consists of three pages and one coming up hopefully soon. The drivers told Dr. Driving the problems they encountered on the road and Dr. Driving, in turn, gave his feedback on how to solve their problems. The reading was easy to follow because the page is set up so that the problem, which is colored in red text, is on the left side and the solutions, colored in green text, are on the right side. Dr. Driving also provided links to his "9 zones" for even more help with their situation. His cartoons that accompanied the problem also gave the reader an idea of what the problem is about. The cartoons made the problem more interesting to read because it helped to give a clearer picture of the problem to the reader. The car zooming across the second page was also pretty cool.
The problems expressed by drivers had a lot to do with unhealthy emotions and how they dealt with it. They were often frustrated with the actions taken by other drivers. The drivers were frustrated and they sought a way of relinquishing that frustration. Dr. Driver gave them different ideas of how they could go about doing that. Some drivers just gave their personal comments about the whole concept of road rage. They found it difficult to always drive with the "aloha spirit". Although anger is unhealthy, some isolated individuals rather keep that anger than go through with the trouble of trying to better themselves. Those that do take the time often find that it was worth the while. This sense of satisfaction was also given. So while Dr. Driving couldn't change everyone, the ones he was able to help were really grateful for the help.
By reading the problems of real-life drivers, I came to realize that I wasn't the only one feeling crappy on the road. This really made me feel good. Everyone else is feeling just as crappy as me. I also realized that although I thought everyone was on the road trying to drive me crazy and make my life a living hell, they too are just trying to reach their destinations. They are probably as eager as I am to get off of the road. We can all feel crappy together! What a great way to think. At least I won't be alone on my road of crappiness. This sort of comforts me because I know that people don't intentionally mean to be hurtful. I then need to make it a point to always remember this when I am driving. Instead of being a community of drivers feeling crappy, maybe we all can enroll in traffic psychology courses and become a community of drivers with the aloha spirity.
Questions pertaining to a person's driving personality are listed on this page. It also lists exactly what to expect out of the book written by Dr. Driving and his wife, Dr. Nahl. By reading the questions, the readers then assumes that the solutions to the questions can be found in the book Inner Power at the Wheel written by Dr. Driving and Dr. Nahl. So if the readers are concerned with trying to better their driving skills, then they should take a look into this book. The background color of this page makes it look really attractive and more professinal looking. This page also provides the readers with a link to the book and the "Problems and Solutions" page. So if readers are interested in bettering themselves, just click and they are there.
By just reading this introduction, readers are made aware of what they feel while driving. The readers asks the questions provided on the page to themselves. By asking themselves these questions, they are made more aware of emotions that would normally be ignored or thought of as nothing worth looking at. Dr. Driving attempts to, as it states, "change your traffic life with a driving personality make-over." Drivers that feel as though they need a driving personality make-over, can simply click on the link to the book and start reading. By reading the book and having a driving personality make-over drivers will have a more stable psychological state resulting in beoming a better and safer driver.
The questions found on this page triggered curiousity in the readers. I felt as though I wanted to know the answers to these questions. I know that I can find the answer to these questions in the book written by Dr. James and Dr. Nahl. While reading the questions, I found myself answering "yes" to a lot of these, such as, "Are you an impatient, irritable driver?", "Do you enjoy taking risks on the road?", and "Do you feel the need for speed?". However, looking at these questions again, I know a lot of us would answer "yes" to a lot of these questions. The real question would then be, "Should I change and do I want to change my driving personality?" I guess if I really wanted to change, I should really read this book but, oh well, who has the time with all the homework we get? Perhaps when I do have the time, I will try to spend it improving myself and my driving personality.
The two authors of the book Inner Power at the Wheel lists their background experience in the field. This page gives the background of each author, listing their accomplishments as well as interests. It gives the reader an idea of how much expertise the writers of the book has. It was obvious to see that the authors are experts indeed. They have put a lot of time and energy in their areas of study. To show proof of their hard work, they have published many journals and articles. An interested reader who wants to take a look at some of their work and things that they published they can do so by using links that go to their articles as well as their home pages. Leon gives the reader a way to obtain even more information that is current by providing a link to "a Web Site to traffic psychology" where he maintains it actively.
The studies that were done on traffic psychology by these two doctors helps to give others more information on the subject. Their research and efforts give us the information that we should have. However, it does so without us having to do all the hard work of running experiments and investigation work. It is obvious that from the response of others from the previous pages that all their research and articles are making great progress toward promoting traffic psychology. The more information that they relay to others, the more educated we will all be on the subject of traffic psychology. Like what they say about all the other problems of our society, education is the first step in elimination of a problem. Dr. James and Dr. Nahl are doing an excellent job!
I really enjoyed this page. It helped me to get bette acquainted with the writers of the book. This page also gave me the opportunity to read up on the other works done by these authors. I didn't realize they, the two doctors of the book, did a lot of other journal and articles on this subject. If I ever had a serious question that needed answering about traffic psychology, I would definitely ask one of these authors. However, I know that I would not be able to know all the information about traffic psychology, the area is just too vast. There is still so much to know about the psychology of traffic that a person would have to give a lot of time and energy to knowing everything about this subject. Just psychology itself has so much ground to cover. It is great to know that there are people like Mr. and Mrs. Dr. James that continue to do studies and research about this subject in order to promote the aloha spirit.
This is a chart of the none zones of Dr. Driving's AWM three step program. These nine zones described earlier in my report as subgroups are defined as either being a feeling, thought, or an action held by the driver. Furthermore, each zone has a positive and negative description. Although it sounds kind of complicating, the chart makes an easier way of looking at these zones. The chart organizes the nine zones so that anyone is able to understand it. The chart categorizes the information about the zones and makes it understandable to the reader. I found this chart really helpful in understanding the zones. Readers need to actually look at this page and at the chart to actually understand just how easy the nine zones are to grasp. I can't really describe it in writing. What makes it even easier is that Dr. Driving also provides links to the phases that are mentioned within the chart.
By trying to identify ourselves with these zones, we are made aware of what kind of personality we have. The chart is an easy way of analyzing our driving personalities. Our actions are the cause of our held in emotions. So, by identifying ourselves and our driving personalities with the information in the charts, we are able to identify emotions we may unconsciously have and therefore we are able to control our actions. By looking at both the negative and positive of each zone, we can read more about that particular zone and what can be done to better ourselves in that zone. Being aware of our emotions is such an important step in improving. We have to first admit that we are doing something wrong before we can actually take that step in modifying ourselves. The easier it is to do, the more likely it will be done by a lot of people. This is what this page and this chart does. It eliminates confusion and provides information in a clear and precise way.
This page is definitely for me. I like to do things the easiest way possible. By reading this chart, I can understand the zones and relate to them better. If I do have a question about a particular zone or if I feel like I need to improve myself in that particular zone, I can simply click on the link available for that zone and I can then read more about it. I really think it's great that this page is up for lazy people like me. What was also good was that the chart not only provided the negative impact of each zone but also the positive. I can change my negative actions by trying to do the positive action that is provided in the chart.
The comments made by other people from all over the world that are shown on this page really goes to show that Dr. Driving is indeed making a difference to many people's lives. They gave their feedback to Dr. Driving and let him know their point of view on his ideas on traffic psychology. Many of the comments made were positive. Most of the comments made were along the lines of "keep up the good work, thanks, etc." There was even one comment relating to bicyclists which goes to show that road rage doesn't only pertain to motor vehiclists. The complaints made were mostly about others being discourtious drivers. Once again this page accomplished in showing how important the topic of traffic psychology is to people. The road is shared by many so everyone needs to find a way to get along with everyone else on the road. Perhaps if everyone tried to make a difference, the roads would be a lot safer.
Knowing the opinions of others often makes us think of our own opinion. I think that this is what this page does. By reading what others think, we think of ourselves and how we are as a driver. This makes us conscious of things that we would otherwise be unconscious of. Seeing how grateful some of the drivers were by the comments they made makes the reader realize that traffic psychology is helpful and perhaps should be given some serious consideration. This page promotes traffic psychology by making it seem useful to others. If it has made a difference for them, then maybe it can make a difference for others.
By using the feedback of other drivers, readers can see the frustrations and concerns of other drivers. I often thought, "What is this guy thinking?!". Well, by reading some of the comments, now I have some idea of where other drivers are coming from and this helps me to be more understanding. I know that I am not the perfect driver so I was thinking, "Geez, these guys could be talking about me!" This alone made me want to change my driving habits and better my driving. I can also use other people's experiences to better my own. These experiences are really useful since it is from people all over and not just here. They all show appreciation of Dr. Driving and all his research done on the subject of traffic psychology. I realized that he made a differenece in the driving lives of these people. They in turn, try to help him out by taking the time out to let him know their opinions.
Want to find out more about traffic related issues? This would be the perfect page. This page provides links to cites having to do with traffic related issues. Readers are able to find out a lot of other useful information that Dr. Driving might not have mentioned. All the resources on this page are links. If the readers find a resource title interesting, they could just click on the title and it takes them to that resource page. It is very convienient if a person was doing research on the topic of traffic related issues. This page provides an easy way of obtaining even more information on the issue of traffic psychology. Readers can read the opinions of other experts. They can also obtain statistics as well as other facts from these resources.
By learning more about traffic, we can broaden our minds on the subject. Not too many people are aware that traffic can be related to psychology. Before this class, I was never aware that driving had a lot to do with psychology. Through the use of this page, we can find out more about thesubject of traffic psychology. We can find out what other experts think about the subject and the opinions they hold. We can take a look at the research, articles, journals, and studies that were done by other experts of this field. We can also see statistics and other facts which can help to further the progress of this study. They might have ideas that might help alleviate the problem of road rage.
I found that this page would be useful in finding out more about traffic psychology. I am able to use facts that are given such as statistics and other useful facts. I could use these facts in reports about traffic psychology. It is really great to see all the resources that are available to me. Hopefully all the research being done will soon make a difference in people's driving personalities so that everyone will be able to get along better on the road. It is terrible to see all these people being so grumpy and inconsiderate to others. We don't need these kind of people in paradise. I'm glad that these researchers are trying to make a difference and make the roads better and safer places for everyone who needs to use them.
In order to make us better and healthier drivers, Dr. Driving provides us with a page of different approaches that we can take. Here he lists eighteen psychological principles that we should think about while driving. A lot of the suggestions talked about being aware of what feelings you hold and what you should do to control the rage. The main point of this page is to try and make it easier for drivers to maintain control while driving. The eighteen principles touch upon the main points, while the book, which is mentioned in the first principle, goes more in depth about these principles. A person can read these principles and it will help them out. However, if they wanted more information, they can link up to the book through this page. By using these suggestions, we should become calmer and more patient while driving.
By applying these eighteen methods, we become more aware of the feelings we have within ourselves about other drivers. We can then use this awareness to modify our feelings and we should be better drivers. These eighteen principles help to make us aware of our thinking. We might believe that we are good drivers and that the other drivers are the ones with the problem. However, if we are upset and full of rage we might find ourselves taking dangerous, unnecessary risks. We might even be vengeful to other drivers. If this is the case, then we are not the rightious drivers we thought we were. This page does a good job in bringing this awareness about. Psychologically, we will be more focused in our driving and we won't harbor any unhealthy emotions.
When I read about "slaying the dragon", I thought that was kind of harsh. I wouldn't say that there is a dragon or even demon in us. Sure we get upset, but these things (dragon or demon) are symbols of evil. I'm sure we aren't all evil. We just need to chill out when we drive. I also questioned the twelfth principle. Dr. Driving said that "Expressing anger is not healthy and not wholesome for the mind.." Everyone gets mad at times. There is no way of avoiding that. It is in the human nature. However, he is right to say that getting mad has the potential of making us lose control. If we can somehow control our anger, minimize it and learn to release that anger in a healthy manner then that would be more beneficial to us as compared to holding it in and suffering. I really liked Dr. Driving's idea of using "pep talk". I think this is a great way to release that anger. I liked his analogy where he says that we view the other driver as a victim and we assign ourselves the duty of being the judge. I know I do this and so do a lot of other people I know. By using pep talk, we can diffuse this level of anger and bring ourselves down to a more rational state. I also liked Dr. Driving's idea of "driving with aloha spirit". I think that getting everyone to drive aloha spirit would be cool to accomplish.
Everyone has a pet peeve when they are on the road driving. On this page, eleven drivers express their frusrations while driving on the road. Four questions were asked of each driver, the questions asked what are one of the things that other drivers do that irritates them, what they want to do about it, what they usually end up doing, and are they satisfied or if they want to change their attitude. Some drivers answered in one sentence while others were a little bit more elaborate with their answering. The drivers expressed frustration with other drivers that drive too slow in front of them. All of the drivers who wrote in dealt with their frustrations in a negative manner by either using profanity, obscene gestures or by keeping it in. All of these reactions are considered negative. For the most part, they new that they should handle their anger in a more healthy and constructive way. All except the last writer wanted to change their attitudes. Witness number eleven expressed satisfaction with his or her attitude and didn't want to change.
By reading the reactions of other drivers, the readers of this page can analyze what other drivers feel. They can also compare their own driving attitude by asking themselves the same questions found on this page. By reading what others have to say, the reader is made aware of his or her own feelings and is then able to identify with the same frustration that is on the page. They also realize that these feelings are negative and useless because that is what other drivers also feel. Since they see that others want to change their attitudes, then perhaps they too should take on the initiative to do something about their own rage within themselves. A lot of the answers given seem to be experiences that every driver might share, therefore, we all should learn from each other.
This page was enjoyable to read. It gave the people who answered the questions a chance to get their feelings out knowing that there was someone there to listen to their problem. I thought it was kind of funny because a lot of the pet peeves discussed were similar to my own. For instance the slow driver who speeds up only when you try to pass. Who are these people and where do they come from?!? I think that what we must try to realize is that they are people. They could be our mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, friends, and so on. They aren't people who came down in their cars from another planet so that they can drive slow and see just how much we can take. The anger we feel while driving is useless, we should concentrate more on driving safely rather than always being in a rush. Maybe these people are driving slow because they are trying to be cautious drivers. Shouldn't we be more upset at the crazy people who are trying to get their anger out on the road by driving like they own it? We should criticize ourselves before we criticize others.
Dr. Driving has made a list of readings that he recommended for other people interrested on the topic of driving psychology. Dr. Driving has also made it convenient for the reader to obtain these suggested readings that they are people. They could be our mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, friends, and so on. They aren't people who came down in their cars from another planet so that they can drive slow and see just how much we can take. The anger we feel while driving is useless, we should concentrate more on driving safely rather than always being in a rush. Maybe these people are driving slow because they are trying to be cautious drivers. Shouldn't we be more upset at the crazy people who are trying to get their anger out on the road by driving like they own it? We should criticize ourselves before we criticize others.
Dr. Driving has made a list of readings that he recommended for other people interrested on the topic of driving psychology. Dr. Driving has also made it convenient for the reader to obtain these suggested readingsby creating links to the cite from this page. Just click and you're there. What I also liked about this page was the animated picture of the car driving across the top of the page. This really gets the reader's attention and makes stirs up curiousity. What could have made it even easier would be to have listed the topics in alphabetical order so that it is easier to find or to group the topics by subjects. Dr. Driving could have helped the reader even further by proving a brief summary of what each topic is about.
By providing the reader with additional cites of information, we are able to further research the topics of traffic psychology. We can read up on what else is out there. The more informed a person is the better. We can expand our knowledge by using the information that is available to us. All the research that was done can help to further the research of others. A person can never have too much information on a topic especially on topics that concern the human mind and emotions. We have a difficult time as it is trying to understand each other. By reading up on the different topics of driving, we are able to get a clearer picture of what is going on on the roads. Hopefully we will use this information in trying to better ourselves as well as others around us.
Some of the cites listed sounded really interesting to me. For instance, "Masculine and Feminine Modes of Driving", "Go Ahead, be Mad at Me", "Moral and Spiritual Aspects of Driving", these titles really get one's attention. I wondered what these topics were about so I went ahead and took a look at them. It was really entertaining and informative. It's great to see that so many people are interested in keeping our roads safe by taking an interest in this field. What was also useful on this page that helped me out on this report was the fact that I was able to access the homepages of previous classes taught by Dr. James. It helped me to organize my work better and it also gave me ideas on how to do my homepage later on. Not only did I have information pertaining solely to traffic psychology, but I also had information about how to do my paper.
More drivers give their feedback on some of Dr. Driving's writings on this page. They write what they feel. They describe their frustrations and they also identified with the frusrations of other drivers that were mentioned before in some of Dr. Driving's writings. The drivers also mentioned what worked for them and what didn't. Some even mentioned ways they compensated for the techniques that didn't work out for them. The graphic I liked on this page was that of the plane taking off. I thought that was neat.
The feedback given by other drivers can help to make suggestions previously given more appliable. What I mean by this is that when we see other drivers using Dr. Driving's methods and having positive feedback, then we begin to realize that we should give more credit to these techniques and try to apply them. Although some of the techniques Dr. Driving gave didn't work for some of us, we can find other ways to cope just like one of the drivers mentioned on this page. We can read this page and see what worked for others and see if it works for us. It makes us more determined to change when we see others changing. We become aware that what we once thought of as impossible is actually being done by others. We just need to apply ourselves just as these drivers applied themselves.
I found it entertaining to read this page. some of these drivers are so ticked off! A lot of their frustrations were also very familiar to me. Even when I'm not driving my car but while I'm driving my moped do I feel frustrated at other drivers. I was able to identify with a lot of the drivers on this page. Not once did I feel like I didn't know what they were talking about. I found one particularly funny. This was the one who suggested driving a junk car at high speeds to make one feel as though they are driving fast when they are only going the speed limit. This was neat. Since Dr. Driving's suggestion didn't work, a new method was invented and implemented. Geez, it seems as though everyone on the road is always in a hurry and is always ticked off at everybody. Vent, vent, vent! Oh well, I guess better here than on the road. Where are the people who are on the car commercials who drive around the state just for fun? Are they the graduates of Dr. Driving's aloha spirit school?!?
The threads that were available when I clicked on the Submit button included "Slaying Your Dragon", "Speed Kills: You Be the Judge", "Speed Limits and Driving Skills", "Dateline NBC Story", and "Hey Tailgaters".
In all of the threads that I read, Dr. Driving is constantly holding sort of a mediator position. He gives suggestions to other drivers about how they can better themselves. He tries to bring out the "best" out of everyone. "Best" as in meaning the good in people. He maintains that everyone does get upset while driving because everyone makes mistakes at times. However he also states that we should be understanding about this and realize that we are all humans which means we are not perfect. He tries to instill in everyone the aloha spirit which is a feeling of warmth, friendliness, patience, and just plain aloha. By offering his methods, he offers his aloha to others that use the roads.
Personally, I think that Dr. Driving's philosophy of driving with the aloha spirit is an excellent one. I really admire his efforts in helping to bring about peace on the roads. He realizes that there is goodness in everyone and he tries to have people focus more on this positive goodness than having them focus on the negatives. For instance, in response to Tigress on the Dateline NBC Story, he tell her that she shouldn't put other drivers down by calling them "idots". It is true when he said that, "Calling certain drivers idiots, i.e., denigrating them, makes you fell superior and righteous." This is certainly true. By putting others down we upgrade ourselves. We should all try to adhere to Dr. Driving's philosophy of driving with the aloha spirit. There would be a lot more peace and safety on the roads.
The way some of these people reacted to Dr. Driving's philosophy was surprising. While some of the responds were positive, there were those who critisized Dr. Drivings efforts. For instance, Ellen Prince wrote about Dr. Driving, "For someone who pruports to be an expert on anger and its potential danger, you sure have a knack for making people angry....". Some people that were more geared toward implementing Dr. Driving's philosophy gave some ideas of their own. For instance wrapl@lakefield.net gave a good idea about keeping a sort of point system to help keep you on track about being good drivers. I think that both the negative and positive reactions given to Dr. Driving are very useful. Those that give positive feedback and offer ideas are great because they offer solutions to potential problems that people might face. They give ideas that worked for them and might work for others. As for the negative feedback, there are always those that don't want to change. Change for some people is a frightening thing and is often hard to deal with. Some people see no wrong in what they do and therefore don't see the need to change. I see that as simply being their perrogative. To change everyone would be impossible but to change many is nearly a miracle in itself. I think Dr. Driving is handling the negative and positive reactions is a good way. Although not everyone had something nice to say, he still sees it as being important enough for others to read. This is really outstanding. Not many of us would put up our criticisms for everyone else to see. We all can learn from each other because none of us are perfect.
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