Doing my research on the internet has always been somewhat fun and entertaining for me. I say somewhat because there are those times when I just wish I could throw the computer out the window - the endless moments of frustration. Thank goodness I haven't experienced this type of moment until today, which is the day before the paper is due. Ahhhhh! You must be thinking, "gee what a procrastinator," but hold off on your opinions until you've heard the whole truth. There was an electrical fire at my house on Tuesday at 3:30am. It wasn't a huge fire and the only thing damaged was a 55 gallon fish tank. But let me tell you, after the smoke cleared and we all were able to go back into the house, were we in for a shock of a lifetime. There was soot everywhere! Being a kind, warm-hearted individual, I offered to stay home to help clean up. We started cleaning at 8:00am and stopped due to exhaustion at 9:00pm and the house still wasn't clean yet. At the end of this long, depressing day, you can bet that the last thing on my mind was this paper. It's a good thing I did my internet research ahead of time, the only thing left to accomplish is the paper. Well, keeping that in mind, enjoy reading the mounds of information I found on my traffic topics.
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SPEEDING
To find information on the topic of speeding, I decided to use my favorite search engine - Webcrawler. Obviously I used the query "speeding" for my search and I came upon many links which I found interesting. The first link entitled, "Successful Speeding" printed in the July 1994 issue of Car and Driver immediately caught my attention. Of course everyone wants to know how to speed without getting caught. There are nine things they suggest to become a successful driver: 1) select proper equipment, 2) recognize the threat early, 3) maintain good daytime scan, 4) maintain a good night scan, 5) practice stealth, deception, and "hiding," 6) beware of slow moving "clumps," they are large groups of vehicles covering all lanes, 7) avoid unprofessional and provocative behavior, 8) maintain a high level of attention at all times, and 9) behave correctly when stopped. Under each of these suggestions, they give some clues as to what you could actually do to successfully speed. Here are a few that I thought were interesting: 1) non-descript mouse-gray "family" cars pass by unnoticed, 2) avoid bright red performance cars, 3) avoid excessive speeding on sparsely traveled highways because there will be no radar cover for you, 4) slow down when approaching underpasses - enforcer may be on far side behind the concrete, 5) check on-ramps: give a quick look to the top of the on-ramp, 6) find a "hare" who is pleased to demonstrate that his car is better than yours and then drop back a safe distance and enjoy the radar shield, and 7) beware of curves, crests, and grassy medians. For more suggestions, click here.
relating to traffic psychology...
The connection between traffic psychology and speeding is that we need to reevaluate our thoughts, feelings, and emotions before pressing the pedal to the metal. I personally feel that this list should be entitled, "how to avoid a speeding ticket" rather than "successful speeding." It shows a motorist how to drive, where to look, and how to act in situations when they are speeding or caught speeding. This list does not allow us to think about speeding, but rather it encourages us to keep speeding.
Another link that I found interesting was entitled, "WWW Speedtrap Registry." This registry was developed in February 1995 with the intention to help cut down the amount of speeding tickets resulting from these speedtraps. They say that the registry is help inform drivers where they may encounter speed enforcement so they may adjust their speed to conditions. Most law enforcement agencies have agreed that when used properly, the registry can make roads safer and drivers more alert. Following this introduction to what is a speedtrap, there was a list of cities where speedtraps exist. Of course I clicked on Hawaii. This link gave me information on all the speedtraps in Hawaii. A few of them are located on the exit ramps off H-1 into the Honolulu International Airport, the Pali Highway-Honolulu bound, and H-1 Freeway- Honolulu bound near the merge with Route 78 under the viaducts.
relating to traffic psychology...
I feel that this is another way to encourage drivers to speed. To let them know where and when they may get caught is wrong because I feel that if they speed then they deserve a speeding ticket. Again I feel we need to evaluate ourselves before speeding and this service does not allow us as drivers to do that. It simply encourages speeding and leaves the impression that speeding is okay.
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PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC
Finding information on this topic wasn't easy, but luckily I found a few that interested me. I did my searches using my other favorite search engine a href="http://www.excite.com/">Excite. This is one of my favorites because it gives you an abstract of the report so you don't have to waste your time clicking on it and then finding out that it's not what you want. I typed in the query "pedestrian traffic" which brought me to this interesting link entitled "What Every Driver Must Know - Sharing the Road Safely - Be Courteous." At first glance, this link looks like an ordinary page trying to inform the reader about the driving safely, but as I scrolled down, I found a section on pedestrians. This section informs the driver about how to treat pedestrians. Their suggestions include: always look for any pedestrians and always yield the right-of-way to them, and watch for them as you enter a street from a driveway or alley, at stop signs, traffic signals, crosswalks, and intersections. It also advises the pedestrian to walk on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic if there is no sidewalk to walk on.
This was a rather short page on pedestrian traffic and I was very surprised that as I did my search, there wasn't many results.
relating to traffic psychology...
This connects to traffic psychology because knowing the rules of walking is important. Knowing that you can walk on the road side facing traffic when there is no sidewalk available helps someone like me who might not know that fact. For instance, this morning as I was driving to school, a bicyclist was riding on the side of the road, but there was a sidewalk available. Of course I swerved my car to avoid hitting him and later called him some obscene things, but now I know that he wasn't supposed to be there. So although I was correct about the rules of the road and sidewalk, I still shouldn't have scared the bicyclist by honking my horn - you should of seen him jump.
my own observations and opinions...
Since I feel the internet hasn't found any real relevant information to my topic of pedestrian traffic, I decided to include my own opinions and observations here. As I have mentioned before in Report 1, I feel that there are unspoken rules about the way we walk and where we walk. These rules can be the same across the world and then these rules can also be different depending on people, cultures, and backgrounds. But there is one rule that I feel is definitely shared by everyone - right vs. left side walking. I assume that the side that you drive on, is basically the side that you will walk on. So here in Hawaii, we drive on the right side of the road and based on my assumption, I guess that means that we must walk on the right side of the sidewalk. If any of you surfers out there disagree with me, send me a message here. Also if you just want to discuss this "sidewalk dynamics" email me too.
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TAILGATING
Before I present what I had found through the search engine Webcrawler, I just want to let you know that this topic was very difficult to find on the internet. Anyway enjoy the small tidbit of information. Through Webcrawler I found this interesting link entitled "Stupid Pathetic Morons with a Drivers License." This page was very interesting and funny to read. It was created for those people who need to vent their frustrations about the drivers they encounter on the road. Someone like me could submit a story and even the license plate number to this page and next week, you'll see it. I clicked on, "read this month's stupid pathetic moron with a drivers license" and it lead me to numerous stories submitted by people who needed to vent their frustration.
relating to traffic psychology...
How does tailgating relate to traffic psychology? Let's see,
when you tailgate, do you ask yourself why do you tailgate? Do you
notice what emotions you are feeling at that time? I feel that before
anyone decides to tailgate, they should take a step back from the "big"
picture and really evaluate their feelings and their reasoning behind
tailgating. By going through this evaluation before tailgating, you may
save yourself a lot of stress, frustration, or even gas. I know that
this process may sound a bit long, but I think that with practice and
patience, it may help.
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AGGRESSIVE DRIVING
To search for other pages on aggression, I used the search engine Excite and typed in the query Aggressive Driving. Before I begin telling you what I found, I just want to warn you that it's not much. This topic was a very difficult topic to find on the net, but I hope you enjoy what I did find. It's called The New Driver Car Control Clinic and basically it's an accident avoidance course for the new drivers on the road. They feel that the drivers' ed courses nowadays are not enough to make a safe driver. This clinic provides instructors, parents, and students with an organized, tested curriculum of exercises that significantly improve the new driver's chances of dealing with emergencies. This program is a self-administered regimen of practice exercises which can be conducted in a parking lot. This program trains the instructors in public schools, commercial schools, and are available at Saab dealers.
my own opinions...
I think this is a good approach to learning how to drive and should be required for all new drivers. I also think that other drivers that have had their license for a while should be required to take this course. Because it is self-administered, anyone should be able to fit it into their schedules.
relating to traffic psychology
I think that this is a good beginning in learning to control aggression. I feel that if one knows how to control their aggressive feelings while on the road, they will not only be a better driver, but also a better person. When feeling aggressive, you need to ask yourself "why do I feel this way and what is the cause?" If you can pinpoint the cause of the aggression, I feel that you can have more control over your aggressive feelings. the end...
Finally to conclude, I think to become a good and safe driver,
one must become a good traffic psychologist. If this happens, you will
know how to adjust your behavior, thoughts, attitudes, and feelings while in
traffic. And hopefully this will make your driving experiences more
enjoyable and bearable.
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Comments, Suggestions, Etc.