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INTRODUCTION: DRIVING AND PERSONALITY |
Introduction: Driving and Personality
Driving can be a terribly stressful experience. In this first report, I present to you the possible solution to your problem, Dr. Driving. Should you choose to follow him, he may bring you years of stressfree, relaxing driving. Who knows?! In this report, we examine Dr. Driving's homepage. He gives solutions to everyday driving problems! Personal accounts of "Road Rage" and how one was able to solve them are discussed! Helpful charts for those who are graphically inclined! You want the solution? Here's a possible one. So sit tight, fasten your seat belt, and read on... with an open mind.
Dr. Driving on the Internet: Voice of Truth?
In Dr. Driving's homepage, he places excerpts out of his book in the section entitled "Inner Power at the Wheel Book Chapters". In this section, Dr. Driving goes over "nine zones of driving personality". The purpose of this page is to point out each of the problem areas we as drivers face everyday in traffic. Driving and psychology go hand in hand. The manner in which we drive is an extension of our personalities. When seen in that context, psychology seems only natural to play a big role in driving. Some very good points are made in this particular section of the site. Self-modification is a very hard thing to do. There are many obstacles, mainly your ego, which prevent you from making that change in yourself to become a better driver and, thus, making driving much less stressful. The best way to do this is to witness yourself perpetrating these deeds. Most of the time we cannot or are not willing to admit that we are committing the act. Forcing yourself to see it is a very humbling experience. When I think back to my high school days, I can honestly say that every time I drove I broke a handful of laws, sometimes more. I guess I was going through that invulnerable, apathetic period in my life. I routinely went upwards to 90 to 100 mph on the freeway, blasted my stereo until my headlights flickered at any hour of the day or night, and basically acted like a manic on the road. Four years older and wiser, I am much more restrained and calm than I was back then.
I suppose it was the lack or respect for the police and the law which justified such actions in my mind. But there was a certain incident which created a big conflict in my mind. Allow me to explain. I was taking my drivers' licence exam and I came across the following question: If you are on the freeway, with other cars around you traveling at 70 mph. The speed limit is 55 What do you do? (A) Speed up and pull away from the group (B) Go with the flow of traffic (C) Go the speed limit. Which one would you choose? I chose "(C) Go the speed limit" and to my surprise, I got it wrong! The correct answer was "(B) Go with the flow of traffic". The part I couldn't understand was that you can still get a ticket if you're going "with the flow of traffic" at 70 mph. So how can it be the correct answer!? The correct answer should be the one which there is NO chance of penalty, right? Well, that's what I figured... I guess I was wrong. Anyway, since then, I've learned to take traffic laws with a grain of salt. I saw a line in your page, "I think it's wrong for me to drive at the speed limit when everyone else is going faster.", which I cannot completely agree with because of the reasons stated above.
A point that I believe I need to work on is a negative point made in your page, "driving with insufficient concentration or with a sense of distraction". I have this bad habit of talking while I'm driving and, though I am driving in a safe manner, meaning watching for potential dangers and following traffic laws, I tend to forget the navigational aspect of driving and miss turns. Frustration is a natural response to a binding situation, someone driving in a manner endangering you or the occupants of your vehicle for example. It is what you choose to do with that frustration that may in turn affect your driving. I once had a very hot temper and I'm sure that is one of the reasons my driving was so reckless. Through the years I have learned to deal with my temper to the point where I don't even get upset any more, at least not for little things. I began to take the attitude that it is not worth getting all worked up for. This aspect of the page may have helped back in my reckless days, although I doubt I would have listened to it, but now I don't let bad drivers bother me as much.
In the section "Media Interviews With Dr. Driving", many questions that was floating in the minds of ordinary people like you and I were brought up and answered. I believe that is exactly why this page is here, to bring up aspects of Road Rage/Traffic Psychology that ordinary people think about. The effect it has had on me is that it pointed out the obvious which I always knew but really didn't think about. For example, "Don't become a target for their highway madness" or "Don't become a target for their highway madness". These are things that are obvious in such a situation, but do we always do it? Maybe THAT'S where the problem lies.
The "Three-Step Program to Healthier and More Zestful Driving" section presents a very reasonable solution to those willing to change their ways and make a change. Acknowledge, Witness, Modify. Dr. Driving suggest a very basic self-modification technique and applies it to a contemporary problem, driving. So as you can see psychology again plays a giant role and changing your aggressing driving. These are the techniques I used to modify my high strung temper and they can be applied to driving as well.
In the previous areas, the situations presented were very general and so were the solutions. In the "Dr. Driving Says... Problems and Solutions" section Dr. Driving actually presents testimonials to make the reader actually imagine the situation being explained. Then, solutions specific to the situation are suggested. This is very useful because in doing so, the driver knows exactly what to do when placed in a similar situation. Also, it lets the reader relate because after all, we've felt the way the writer of the testimonials testify to at one point or another. Again, the way you feel is emphasized rather than the technical aspects of driving.
In the section, "About the Authors:Leon James and Diane Nahl", we are introduced to the authors/creators of the ideas presented in the site. It gives background information on why we should (or shouldn't depending on how you feel about those credentials) listen to them.
Dr. Driving even provides us with a graphical representation for his site (Chart of Nine Zones of Your driving Personality). For those of us who are graphically oriented, it's GREAT! It goes over the nine zone explained in the previous section. It displays the negative and positive aspect of each zone in a easy-to-see table. Dr. Driving also suggests keeping a journal of your thoughs immediately after your driving experience. This would be a good idea since we usually don't keep track of our thoughs, and even if we did, they are soon forgotten.This journal would help us capture exactly how we felt about what we have done and also what we felt we should have done.
Dr. Driving also provides a page which displays samples of visitor feedback called "Comments by Visitors". It gives testimonials of those people for which Traffic Psychology techniques have indeed worked. Maybe it will help those of us that are unsure about the effectiveness of the techniques to see that it really works.
He also has a list of his HOT LINKS called "Driving and Traffic Resources on the Internet". This page has various links to sites having to do with Driving/Traffic. Dr. Driving gives in-depth descriptions of what to expect when you get to the site. This area starts out with Traffic Psychology resources on the net but moves on to the legal and technical aspects of driving and traffic. There were some interesting sites presented. My favorite was the WWW Speedtrap Registry(with a java enhanced version as well). It lists many of the speedtraps across the country, by state, so you know what to watch out for when you're driving. Also, Dr. Driving listed many sites debating the issue of speed limits. Very interesting.
In another section, "Self-Witnessing Exercise", Dr. Driving suggests a series of steps which you can follow to try to keep your emotions in check. When another driver makes your upset, he encourages you to write down what made you upset, what you felt like doing, what you usually do, and whether you are satisfied with what you do or would you like to change it. These are things you can apply to everyday situations but Dr. Driving used it specifically for driving. He also gave sample answers to these questions with situations we've all been in to help us relate. Again, I think that this type of technique is good in that it helps you see how you thought and felt at the time the event took place.
Dr. Driving also was kind enough to give us an "Index of Topic on Driving and Drivers". He gives us 1001 subtopics of Traffic Psychology. If you doing research, GO HERE.
Dr. Driving is truly a great big spider in the World Wide Web. He's not only all over the Web but also in the Usenet as well. Dr. Driving seems to stick to his overall philosophy of driving tranquillity through emotional control. Just as the "Problems and Solutions" section helps us relate, I can also relate to those people replying to Dr. Driving on the rec.autos.driving newsgroup. I read a quote in one of the posted messages (From jdennis@ultranet.com Fri Nov 22 12:55:39 1996 ) in which she stated the following:
"This is precisely why many drivers irritate the hell out of me. Because they don't even exhibit the pretense of having respect for others and while driving appear to not even be aware of the activity they are engaged in. Even the most simple courtesy is beyond their capacity, never mind that they would operate a lethal weapon (their car) with skill."
I can definitely relate to this quote. I think people should respect eachother on the road and when others fail to do so, it irritates me. Now granted, I don't let it bother me as much as this particular writer does. I tolerate it but I don't like it. This is probably why it is so hard for me to change some of the aspects of my driving or to keep myself from feeling frustrated and swearing at a wrong doer.
It seems that many people react this way to Dr. Driving. They know that the "eye for an eye" attitude on the road is wrong. Still we perpetrate. We know that swearing at them or giving them the finger is going to accomplish nothing. Still we perpetrate. Nothing is wrong with us. No everyone reacts well to being told what to do. I feel that maybe if they were urged to do so by appealing to them in ways that they understand may be a better way to persuade people to change. Telling a person not to do something because it is wrong does not really change a person. It's analogous to telling a drug user not to do so because it is wrong or it is hurting them. They are not going to stop. Many people experience an internal conflict. The internal conflict of driving tranquillity is between the knowledge that being aggressive and obscene is wrong and the underlining force of frustration and anger. So what, do you ask, do you appeal to? Well, that would depend on the person. I think that a program like this should be more individualized. For a person who does not experience have a problem with this conflict following Dr. Driving's methods would be very simple and effective but I feel that for the rest of the people, knowing that something is wrong just is not enough to make that change.
My Favorite Traffic Psychology Resources: THE LIST
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Dr. James' Homepage . My Traffic Psychology Class Homepage . My Traffic Psychology Homepage . Tigger's Homepage
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