In my first report, five areas of traffic psychology were discussed. These topics are tailgating, convoys, speeding, agressive driving, and pedestrian issues. In this report, these areas will again be covered, but more in depth. I did searches on the internet on the previously mentioned topics and reviewed articles covering these topics.
Tailgating
Tailgating is a issue that gets many people upset, particularly the victim.
Timothy
Lee is one such person. He contributes his thoughts on rude drivers
to the california driving news group. Certain tailgating situations that gets
him riled up include when it happens in the right lane, when the lanes to the
left are open enough to enter, when it is impossible for him or the cars in
front to go any faster, on two lane roads.
Even though I'm a tailgater (soon to be reformed, hopefully), I must admit I
agree with many of Timothy's opinions regarding tailgating. I absolutely hate
it when people tailgate when no one can move faster. At least I can honestly
say this isn't one of the situations when I tailgate.
Geoff
Miller also has some candid opinions regarding tailgating. In his
response to someone else's comments, he tell the person that if he or she
doesn't like the speed the front driver is going he can go around or maintain a
proper distance. It is unacceptable to tailgate for it is inviting an
accident. He goes on to add that if there is only one lane on each side of the
road, it is common courtesy for a slower driver in front to pull over and let
the cars behind pass.
While I agree that tailgate should not be an option, I do not feel that the
slower drvier should have to pull over. This person has every right to be on
the road, at any speed, at or below the limit. However, it would be nice if
this person weren't going too slow. A minimum speed might help here.
Convoys
Couldn't find anything so far on this. The hits of my searches all deal with
military stuff. I haven't been able to get anything in the traffic psychology
sense.
Speeding
The first search I did on speeding was on the
metacrawler.
This resulted in
numerous hits. I came across an article discussing the
effects of
raising and lowering
speed limits. Apparently, a research project was conducted where
data on speed and accidents were collected in 22 states, at 100 sites, before
and after speed limits were change.
A number of intersting findings were uncovered. It was found that lowering
speed limits by 5, 10, 15, or 20 mph at the study sites had a minor effect on
speeds. Also, raising speed limits 5, 10, or 15 mph at rural and urban sites
had a minor effect on speeds. After examining the speed distribution where
speed limits were lowered, it was found that the slowest drivers increased
their speed about 1 mph. No changes were found among the high speed drivers.
As the above results indicate, it was concluded that lowering and raising the
speed limits had little or no effect on the speed of the drivers. These
results confirm what a number of other studies have found . This being that a
majority of drivers do not change their speed to conform to speed limits
perceived as unreasonable.
This article on the effects of raising and lowering speed limits is important
to traffic psychology. It is interesting that people seem to go the same speed
despite changes in the speed limit. Many interesting questions arise from this
finding. I wonder if people are even aware of the speed limit changes. It
seems that motorists, both fast and slow, have their own idea about what the
right speed for an area should be and drive according to that perceived right
speed. It is also possible that these perceived speeds are reinforced by other
motorists who also disregard the speed limit. In any case, it would be
interesting to discover why so many people do not follow the speed limit.
Another article I found was on
successful
speeding. This article is from
the July 1994 issue of Car & Driver. It gives speeders advice on how to
avoid getting a ticket for speeding. The article advises speed demons to
select proper equipment - get a good radar detector and don't drive red
performance sports car ("family cars" usually go by unnoticed). It is also
helpful to recognized situations where you are more likely to get caught. Try
not to speed on highways that a scarcely travelled, recognized "threat"vehicles
(cars that police normally drive), and be aware of radar alerts. Other advice
include being alert at all times and avoid provocative behavior that will set
you apart from the crowd.
I found this article particular interesting, mainly because of the reason
behind it. The article disregards the reason speed limits exist. The sole
purpose of it is to help people break the law and get away with it. Articles
like this reinforce speeding and totally defeats the prupose of speed limits.
I must admit, some of the advice given (i.e. being attentive at all times) is
great and should be considered by all motorists. It is somewhat hypocritical
of me to talk about speeing like this. I just feel that instead of putting
one's effort into avoiding the law, we would be better served if more effort
were put into uncovering the reasons why people speed.
report 1 - aggressive driving. If
you're looking for somthing on this topics please check it out.
Since my searches were unsuccessful, I'll write about my opinions, so
please bear with me. Aggressive driving is sort of like a category
for various different behaviors. These would include tailgating and
offensive lane changing. I'm sure you get the idea. I certainly can't
and won't try to condone it, but I admit I drive aggressively at times.
If you've read my other reports, you know I'm a chronic tailgater
(something I'm trying to improve on). I find myself driving aggressively
when I'm late. This is probably a problem for many. To get to the
point, I believe, aggressive driving is just a symptom of a much bigger,
deeper problems.