Tailgating is practice that is used quite often by drivers in many different situations. Drivers who are in a hurry to get somewhere, usually because they are late for something, use it to try to get the people in front of them to go faster or to make them get out of the way. Aggressive drivers use it in the same way but for a different reason. No speed limit is ever fast enough for them so they want to try to get everyone else to speed up or get out. Sometimes a driver is going at, or under, the posted speed limit and others use it to call that fact to the attention of the offending driver. Other times it is used as a form of revenge on somone who cut you off or did something to offend you. It shows the other driver that you were "very displeased" by their actions and that you did notice what they did to you. And then there are the people who do it just for fun or just for the sake of doing it. These people are either too stupid to know, or don't really care, about the possible dangers that are involved when tailgating. I think that there should be some kind of law that would protect us from these types of people.
Jae Isa:
Shane Akagi.
Mr. Akagi says that people who tailgate him make him very nervous. He fears that there will be a time that he will have to slow down or make a sudden stop and then BANG! You know what just happend.
She states that she never really paid much attention to her own or other people's tailgating because she herself is an aggressive driver but hopes that this class will get her to pay more attention in the future.
Speeding.
What is speeding? Would most people consider 5 miles an hour over the posted speed limit speeding? What about 10 miles per hour over? In my opinion, I believe that anything over ten miles per hour above the speed limit is considered speeding. As a rule, I try to stay within 5 miles an hour above the posted speed limit. I do have my brain freezers every so often but most of the time I do make a concious effort to adhere to my rule. Even when there are no cars or cops in sight, 5 miles an hour above is still my limit.
On to the generation one comments...
Miss Ota believes that speeding is okay as long as it doesn't endanger other people and the person who is driving has control over his/her own car. She does get upset when she sees speeders who are weaving in and out traffic because now they are putting innocent peoples lives at stake.
Mr. Matsuyoshi believes that he is a pretty good driver but knows that he has to work on his speeding problem. Whether he is in a hurry or not, he tends to speed all the time. He thinks that the fault lies in the fact that he went to school in Rhode Island and he says that everyone there moves pretty fast.
Mr. Akagi wonders why everyone drives so fast as to cause a potentially dangerous situation. He believes that it is all a part of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The idea behind it was that since the people were expected to go fast, that's exactly what they did. They didn't want to feel like they were the one's who were holding back the traffic.
Aggressive driving is not limited to those people with modified cars who like to show off and just "rip" around and show off, I have noticed that quite a few of the really aggressive drivers are the rich people with expensive European cars. I guess that they feel that they can get away with being a jerk because they can afford to. My definition of an an aggressive driver is a person who feels like they own the road. They always speed, tailgate, weave in and out of traffic, and will force their way into the smallest of spaces or try to make a space where it doesn't exist. This is just my definition. Let's see what generation one had to say about aggressive driving.
Mr. Matsuyoshi made a reference to someone named Dee who describe aggressive driving as someone who weaves in and out of traffic and tailgates. One of her reasons for why people drive aggressively is that so they can take out their aggressions on the road rather than on someone else. Admirable.
Miss Allen feels that aggressive driving and over-confidence go hand in hand. She says that a driver who confident in his or her abilities tend to feel that they know that they can do things even if it isn't a safe thing to do. She says that she fall into that category and gives some examples of the kinds of things that she does. She will force another driver to let her in a lane by nudging her car into the smallest possible space or if the driver won't let her in she will stomp on the gas and cut right in front of that person. She also says that she doesn't always drive like that, it's usually because she is in a hurry to get somewhere.
She also feels that she is more aggressive than most men. Watch out guys.
Michelle Ota.
Miss Ota has seen situations where, on a narrow two lane street, two cars going in different direction were intent on proceeding even though there wasn't enough space for the both of them to go through. Eventually one of the had to back off.
The accordian effect is a phenomena where whenever you try to keep a safe distance from the car ahead of you, the ebb and flow of the pace of traffic causes you to adjust your distance once again. This cause and effect phenomena is most prevelant during sessions of heavy traffic. Why does this happen? What are the physics behind this incredible phenomena? Like the tootsie roll pop commercial says, "The world may never know." Let's hear some possibilities from generation one.
Mr. Matsuyoshi says that yes, this phenomena does exist, especially during traffic time, and the size of the spaces between cars tend to increase and decrease along with the flow. He says that he tries not let the spaces get too big or else "the sucking-in effect" may occur concurrently. Sometimes the size of the space is not a factor when someone really wants to cut in. He thinks that a simple wave of thanks is not really sufficient to quell the feelings of anxiety.
Miss Allen's definition seems a little more negative. She says that the accordian effect takes place when cars are driving too close together and there may not be enough time to stop.
Advances in technology has brought to the front a new type of road hazzard, the cellular phone. I know for a fact that cellular phones can be a great distraction while driving because I have one and have used it while driving. If the conversation is interesting or heated, your attention may not be mainly on the road ahead. The potential for accidents or near accidents is greatly increased. So far I have been lucky, knock on wood, but the possibility still remains. Let's hear some thoughts from generation one.
Mr. Isa made a reference to a previous students report on how cellular phones affect a person's driving capacity. The term "attention deficit problem" was used to identify the division of one's attention between the road and the phone.
He also made a reference Caroline Balatico's article which stated that there are three main actions that contribute to driver distraction. they are:
He later recounted some of his own personal cellular phone situations where he was momentarily distracted while using the phone or driver next to him was distracted.
Although he does not think that is any real solution to this problem he does state the pros, emergencies and potentially dangerous situations, and cons, It would give the police officers one more thing to look out for and rich people could afford to pay the fine anyway, of cellular phone use while driving.
When you compare and contrast what the generation one students said about the different subjects, the results are almost identical except on the issues of speeding and aggressive driving. For speeding, there were different opinions on what speeding is and why they do it while for aggressive driving it was more like whether they wanted to, or could change that aspect or attitude.
The significance to traffic psychology is that all social aspects must be recognized in order to perform with a great deal os safety and courtesy to other drivers. Although it is virtually impossible to act this way all of the time, the affective self must try to be as neutral as possible or the conflict that may occur could have negative effects for all of those involved.
Conclusion.
The ability to identify, relate to, and act upon the various topics shows that all is not lost within the driving community. If people would be more aware of their actions and the the possible consequences involved maybe then they would learn how to make the roads safer for everyone. Here's a good suggestion, maybe all of the people who have multiple moving violations should be required to take a class on traffic psychology so that they can learn and better understand all of the principles that are involved in driving.
Mr. Isa tended towards the moral and legal implications of tailgating. He gives a short definition of what he thinks tailgating is: "Driving extremely close to the car in front."
He then goes on to talk about a few of the possible legal implications of tailgating like the increased probabilities of accidents, harassment to the intended driver, and the invasion of privacy or personal space.
In the next section he vents his feelings about the moral implications of tailgating. He feels that tailgating is wrong because it invades one's personal space and may cause the other driver to feel a bit of anxiety, it may may arouse a feeling of fear due to the fact that there may not be enough time to react to a pontential situation, it is an intended act to try to demean and/or intimidate the driver who is being tailgated, and finally that nothing good ever comes out of tailgating someone and we should accept the responsibilities if we choose to do so.
He also mentions something about spiritual implications of tailgating. What goes around comes around.
He then talks about how tailgating affects him while driving in a "convoy." He feels that he is the one who holding back the traffic so he speeds up.
He also feels that it is morally wrong to tailgate but sometimes it just happens. He says that he tries to give the other driver some room but due to the "sucking-in effect" the distance always becomes too small.
Next he gives his thoughts on what he thinks about when someone tailgates him, he gets a little angry, and what he does about it.
I would venture to guess that the spiritual tailgating theme was part of the assignment because both of them seem to have it in their reports. In his spritual sectoin, Mr. Akagi expresses his concerns of the dangers of tailgating.
But why do other people speed? I feel that people who speed tend to fall into three categories. The first one is reserved for people who are in a hurry to get somewhere. Now doesn't this sound familiar? I'm late. I'm late. For a very important date.The second one is for people who have a little higher definition of what speeding is. My limit may be 5 but someone else's might be ten or 15 etc... The third one is for the people who should take remedial driving. These people speed because they feel the need, the need for speed. These people whenever they can with little or no disregard for the other drivers around them. These are the really scary ones.
As part of her driver personality makeover plan she does try to control her speeding, among other things, but in the end she feels that she is destined to fail.
Mr. Akagi also made a reference to Joleen Lai's report.
Aggressive Driving.
After reading her paper, Mr. Matsuyoshi realized that he tended to use that same reasoning when he was upset at someone and that anything else that another driver did just upset him more. He said that leaving earlier to get to a desired destination and moving closer to school has helped him change his attitude towards driving because their is less stress due to the fact that he doesn't have to rush.
He states that when he is driving his own car he can be a terror on the road especially when he is in a bad mood. When he drives his work vehicle, a U.H. Athletic department van, he must remain a safe driver. Can't give the department a bad name can you?
It seems like, for his part, aggressive driving is more like the use of words and gestures rather than unsafe driving although he says that he does speed quite frequently.
She also read a paper from a previous student who says that once they are behind the wheel, he/she is a very impatient person who is easily irritated. Outside of driving, that person tones the attitude down a notch. This person always acted like he/she was in a hurry to get somewhere and had no regards for the other drivers or the pedestrians that were around. Thankfully, Miss Ota tells us that this person had learned a few techniques to help to tone down and control his/her aggression.
Also included was a little factoid that in Brazil it is illegal to use a cellular phone while operating a vehicle unless it is voice operated or hands free.