Report 3: Traffic Psychology on the Internet

Tailgating
Okay back to tailgating. While searching through Lycos I typed in tailgating and hit enter. First, it gave me the first top ten and I was reading them and saying to myself wait a minute, I dont want to look at football games, cookbooks, or even revolutionary tailgates for Ford trucks. I was getting worried there for a minute thinking that I may not find anything on the subject I wanted. But alas, on the fourth page I came across The types of drivers and how they affect traffic flow. I thought to myself, oh boy I hit the jackpot! Just when I was going to give up too!
This page turned out to be very fruitful. He, Kevin Atkinson, talks about different kinds of drivers: The slowpokes and religious speed limit obeys, the slow drivers and casual speed limit obeys, the fast and generally typical drivers, the tailgaters and speed demeans. He says that it is the first and the last that are the cause of traffic problems.
Its really interesting because he says that the second doesnt cause any problems but they do cause people to tailgate and it can get ugly if the person chooses to do so. Also, what totally blows me away is the fact that he says that the fast and typical drivers are the best drivers to keep traffic flowing smoothe. I want to hear what he has to say about the speed limit.
His classification of a tailgater is following so close that you can bearly see the headlight on the front of the other drivers car. He states that you endanger yourself as well as the people in the car in front of you.
He recommends that you cut it out and that this a downright unacceptable practice even if there is not a passing zone for miles and he is really going slow! His methods for letting the person know that you want to pass them are as follows.
Follow a little closely until he sees you then back up. If he doesn't get the idea do it again. Even though it might be considered a bit rude you might try flashing your lights at him (hay its better than tailgating).
Kevin also talks about those that are usually victims of tailgaters, the Slowpokes. He describes these drivers as scared drivers (senior citizens) who dont want to hit anybody, drivers who dont know where theyre going, and finally those who actually go the speed limit of 30-35 miles per hour on the backroads. Kevin says that Slowpokes are never wanted on the road! He says that these Slowpokes can actually double your travelling time on a two-lane road and that it can be difficult to pass them. There are some good news though, he states that there are not too many of these Slowpokes on the road, but when they are on the road, they can make life miserable for all.
Now on to the topic of fast drivers being the best kind around. He says that they are safe because they pay attention to the road, because at that speed they have no choice. So if anything were to pop up then they would be right on top of it! The truly safe ones are the ones who KNOW how to drive and not just operate a machine! It is those who become too aggressive and start to cut people off and switch lanes too fast, that give them a bad name.
So how do you classify yourself , he asks? Hes got a comment for whatever type of driver you are! Check this page out!
Speeding
What!?! No Speed limit? Yep its true, the Federal speed limit in the nation has been abolished now there are places in the nation where you can vent all your frustrations and anger out on the road! As soon as I heard this news I went on the internet the next day and I began to search for articles on the internet about this subject, boy was this something to talk about.
So I went on the next day and sure enough, when I put in a search through Infoseek I found an article by Rick Finley which was called Its Only Speeding If You Get Caught! He talks about how Bill Clinton signed the bill that did away with the 55 miles per hour speed limit and left that decision up to the states and how they want to do their own highways.
Of course everybody is talking about how Montana totally did away with their speed limit except for at night. As for other states, some just raised it to 75 miles per hour, and of course, here in Hawaii the speed did change a bit.
You must be thinking why would the president do such a thing? The main reason is because of attempts at governmental deregulation, a minor aspect was that at the time the speed limit was made to be 55 miles per hour we were going through an energy crisis, but we dont have one anymore. However, Rick states that the main reason is the blatant disregard that most citizens of today have for the speed limit. People are frustrated with the current system of speeding ticket distribution. Adriver may pass a police officer untouched at 80 miles per hour one day, but receive a ticket for driving at 75 the next. This random apportionment of punishment does very little to curb speeding; the only purpose it seems to serve is to anger citizens.
A lot of hype about traffic safety has come up since the changing of the speed limits. One study showed that since the speed limit was raised to 65 miles per hour in one area the accident rate has gone up, but it fails to recognize the fact that fewer accidents occur when more people drive at a higher speed.
Another argument for safety is that even though the speed limit is changed to 75 miles per hour, not all cars can go up to that speed and for those that are able to go faster than that, they should be reluctant to push their cars all the time to their maximum.
Traffic Psychology will regulate this theory by saying that people will find a speed limit that is comfortable for them as well as their car. Also everybody will have to take into account that although the option to go as fast you wish is granted, there still is an ethical decision on your part that has to be settled to protect you and those around you.
Convoys
As I attempted to search for the topic of convoys in traffic, I suddenly realized that I was totally off in my searching. The word convoy is a type of Traffic Psychology jargon that would hardly be used by others who are not affiliated with us. Therefore my hope that I could get all my information from sources outside of our university was futile.
When I look into the generation one files I came across a student Todd Takitani, and he gave me another perspective on convoys and traffic.
First of all, Todd talks about three different types of convoys to keep an eye out for when you are driving on the road. The first one is described as the one that blocks up traffic and causes jams. The culprit for this convoy is what they refer to as the PLUG. The plug is the slow guy who has no clue whats going on around him and doesnt give a hoot either. The second type of convoy is termed FOLLOW THE LEADER, and this one is the fun one to me. It consists of the faster moving vehicles all trying to catch up with each other, but of course it doesnt last long because eventually youll run into a PLUG! Although I could see the plug as the key to the winner of the convoy, if you can get passed the plug first then you win the convoy! (Yeah right!!!) The third type of convoy he speaks of is the SPACIOUS type convoy. This is the cruizing convoy which consists of a lot of cars all spaced out and everybody gets to drive at their own pace. These are also known as Packs. The last type of convoy is called the BUMPER TO BUMPER convoy, I bet you can guess this formation. Yep! Grid-lock, and if you live in Hawaii youd know not to go on the road between the hours of 3-6:30pm on weekdays because itll take you forever to get home!
Well, this was a good experience to know that there are many different types of convoys out there and that everybody has their own opinion of what is what to them. My searching is not going to give up though, if people dont know what a convoy is in traffic psychology terms then Im going to teach them because thats the only way that we are going to get the message out to people about our studies!
Mountain Biking!
Mountain Biking anyone? Hey its a new craze in the popular sport of biking. Its no longer the distance sprinting on those skinny little tubes they call tires. Its scaling the mountain-tops with your brand new rugged mountain bike, equipped with all terrain tires and even shock absorbers!
Yep! I found a homepage that is strictly for all you avid mountain bikers and sports freaks and its called Mountain Biking! Itll take you all over the world to biking sites youve never dreamed of, and for all you locals living in Hawaii, yep, theres even a trail in this site for us called Have you ever mountain-biked in Maui? Well, being an avid bicyclist myself I unfortunately do not live on Maui however Im sure that there are many trails located here on Oahu.
For those of you who want to learn how to sport this new field they also have tips on how to ride effectively as well as within a race amongst other riders. One link you can go to is called Rogers Hints for Beginning Single-Trackers. Also, there is a tips sheet on the technical terrain of a course called Hanging It Out!
Although most people dont relate bicycling with traffic psychology, they are terribly mistaken. There is an art to the sport of bicycling and you must know the ropes so that you dont cause other bicyclists any harm. These links are made so that you can learn some of them without getting your head beat in by another person.
Also when you drive you must take into account that the road conditions will definitely play a part in the way you drive. Same thing goes for the everyday bicyclist because he/she must take precautions if they intend to go all out on a certain trail. For instance, it wouldnt make much sense that if youre planning to scale the dirt trail of a mountain, that you plan it for a rainy day. So many factors do come about when you become an avid bicyclist.
And dont be mistaken, bicycling is not an inexpensive hobby that you can use your pocket change on to buy the necessary equipment. Trusty and useable bicycles can run you up to around $1500-sometimes even $3000! I wish that I could afford a 3 thousand dollar bicycle, then I would scale the tallest mountains in the blink of an eye!
So you think that youre interested in purchasing a bicycle, well, youve come to the right place. If you want to last with the big boys on the trails then youre gonna need the right equipment. Imagine if you wanted to experience the freeway for the first time you wouldnt be taking a moped on it would you!?! Well, same goes for mountain biking, you cant take your puny little ten speed on these trails so check this out! Its called the Bikealogs Complete Bike Specs 95. Here you can explore every aspect of bicycle equipment that youre gonna need.
Okay so youre all set! Hope you have a great time and Ill see you on the hills!
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