Soliman G. Valdez
Psychology 459
Report #1
September 20, 1995
Initial Self-Assessment as a Driver
For anyone interested in the subject of Traffic Psychology there is only one place to look. That would be to look up the homepage of Prof. Leon James (kissing up). The reason being, it has the most extensive list of topics on Traffic Psychology. If it doesn't have the topic you are looking for then it will probably have a link to some other address you can find your topic in. For the topics I was interested in, I simply went to Prof. James Homepage and clicked on Traffic Psychology. From there I accessed the Generation One Homepages. Generation Two having started this year, obviously would not have any dialog in them yet. A homepage in Generation Two that should be noted is Aaron Takahashi's. Even Generation Two could learn something from this homepage.
Anyway, all of the information that I needed was found in the Generation One files. After clicking on Generation One Homepages, a list of all of their homepages came to view. I easily accessed all of the student files from this page. A good way of finding the topic of you choice is to find someone writing about your topic, and follow their links. The next person would have another link and so forth and so on. It's like a scavenger hunt; only no riddles. Everything is laid out in front of you. A hint that Braden Kato also told me about was that the subjects coincided with the weeks so suppose week #40 was on driving naked, then everyone's week #40 would be about driving naked. Thanks Braden the "Filipino Lova".
My first topic of discussion will be on your favorite and mine, tailgating. Tailgating is described to be driving or following the car in front of you just a little too close. Too close can be described in several ways. Josephine Allen describes it as being closer than one car behind the one in front of you. Caroline Balatico says it is when you are driving too close for stopping distance or when you are causing a driving hazard. My mom use to tell me that I should always be two seconds behind the next car. All of these descriptions are pretty accurate. Of the three labreports that I read, none of them approved of tailgating. To them it was morally wrong and dangerous for yourself and other drivers. Josephine goes as far as to call it a sin. Hey Brad Pitt, put that in your movie. You could have a guy be murdered because he followed too close and he liked it. You now its if you don't realize that it's wrong. Also, Shane Akagi pointed out that there are people out there that are truly terrified of tailgaters. He writes in his paper that when a person is tailgating him, he gets very nervous.
I think that tailgating is wrong too, but it sure feels good when you are doing it. I'm sure a lot of people are out there just enjoy tailgating. At least one person, Caroline agrees with me. People enjoy the excitement of knowing that the person in front of them is probably pretty "pissed off" being tailgated. And these drivers take joy knowing they are causing this uneasiness in the driver ahead of them. For the drivers that tailgate and don't know it, then they are "ate up". If you're going to tailgate, at least do it for a reason. Although, it is much easier to recognize a tailgater when you are in the passenger's seat or being tailgated yourself.
When someone has tailgated me before, I don't remember ever feeling afraid. All I thought was how I was going to get behind this person and tailgate him back. Revenge is the name of the game, baby. I was really surprised by Shane's remark about being nervous when he was followed too close. Wait , hold on. If the car behind me was a big truck and the driver just as big. In fact so big that he had to sit in the cargo bed to drive, then I would be just a little afraid too. In fact it would be get out of the way time.
Now about tailgating being a sin. I am sure that there are so many other things about driving that are far worst. Such as driving too slow, but that's another subject.
Tailgating is important to "Traffic Psychology", because of the reasons mentioned above. Being tailgated makes people feel very uncomfortable. This in turn causes them to tailgate too and then everyone is tailgating or just scared out of their minds. I've even heard of people getting into fights from being tailgated. The readings have taught me to realize just how serious tailgating can be and that people are really afraid of tailgating in general.
The last time I can remember being tailgated was when I went to the Hickam Air Base. Because I was monitoring my driving, so I drove the correct speed limit and tried really hard not to tailgate. As I got closer to the gates, I slowed down. A past experience taught me to drive really slow at these gates. A while back I went to the gate pretty fast and the gate guard yelled at me to slow down as I passed the gate. He scared the "crap" out of me. Anyway, since I was getting close to the gates, I turned my headlights off, and slowed down. Only one lane was open so the guy in back of me had no choice but to stay behind me. This guy was driving so close to me that, I almost had to tell him to get out of my seat. Instead of getting mad, or trying to get him back, I thought about the class and decided that this guy must have had a good reason to be following me so close. He probably was late for a date or had to use the rest-room.
Thinking this guy had a good reason to tailgate me made me feel better about being tailgated. It also made me feel good that I did not try to retaliate in any way. I felt it was my good deed for the day. My only disappointment was that, even thought the guy had a good reason to tailgate me, I still thought he was still an "ass" for following me so close.
The next topic will be on rushing. I chose rushing next because it had to do a lot with tailgating and another favorite subject of mine, speeding. A classic example of rushing was given by Jae Isa. In her report she had an article about a guy who was always in a rush. He listed down tailgating, speeding and, weaving in and out of traffic as part of his driving routine. He attributed his rushing to not giving himself enough time to get anywhere on time. Shane and Caroline attributed rushing to an increasingly fast pace society. They said that people are always concerned about time especially trying to do things quicker, getting to places faster and making things more convenient.
There is no doubt that people rush because they haven't managed their time properly. This can be easily avoided by people taking time out to prepare for their next journey. Shane and Caroline did bring up a very good point of living in a fast paced world. People today are always looking for a faster and easier way of doing things. This includes travel. People will never be satisfied with the time it takes to get to one place to another, until scientists figure out how to "beam up" to one place to another. And even then, people will not be satisfied. It was scary to hear in Jae's article about the man who never plans his traveling. He was scary because he didn't give pedestrians the right of way, he always sped and he even would go as far as cutting drivers off the road. He was not only a hazard to other drivers, but also non-drivers. you could call him a menace to society. The most frightening thing about this article was that you can imagine how many people are out there that do not manage their time properly. It would be impossible for me to guess, but I'm sure there are a lot more people out there who drive just like this person.
Rushing is a big theme of Traffic Psychology. This is because rushing influences so many other aspects of driving. Tailgating, speeding, lane-switching and aggressive driving are all greatly influenced by the fact that a driver is in a rush. This is very disturbing since this problem would not be very hard to modify. Fortunately, the driver in Jae's article realized how "harmful and disrespectful" his way of driving was. He modified his behavior by thinking of the other drivers feelings and not only considered his own. Ultimately he learned to manage his time better.
My experience with rushing happened on my way to "drill" with the National Guard. I live in Kalihi and my unit is stationed in Wahiawa. Now for me to get there on time on a Friday night, I would have to leave my house an hour early. Since my reporting time was at 1800 or 6:00 p.m. for you civilians, I should have left by 5:00 p.m. At around 4:00 p.m., I decided I was going to get ready to go to drill. Going to drill, took a lot more time to prepare for then I had expected. Among the things I had to accomplish in an hour were; to shine my boots, get my uniform ready, shower, and shave. At 5:00 p.m. I was ready to go. But before I was to leave, I wanted to get a zip pack, since I knew that I was not going to be fed. At the same time, I realized that I didn't have any money. So now, instead of leaving at 5:00 p.m. to Wahiawa, it took me ten minutes to go to the bank and get money and ten minutes to go to Zippy's to get a zip pack. By this time, I was already twenty minutes behind schedule.
When I finally got on the road to Wahiawa, I felt a sense of urgency. It wasn't appropriate for me to be showing up to drill late. I'm supposed to be setting the example for my troops. To be late for drill meant that I didn't plan properly and that maybe I wasn't fit to be a leader. As I got on the road, I thought again of this driving class. I thought of how dangerous it would be for me to break any laws just so I could get to work on time. I tried really hard but it seemed like every car in front of me was driving too slow. Eventually I found myself, speeding way above the speed limit of 55. I found myself especially speeding on the H-2 Freeway. The H-2 has no mercy on you. There's wide open roads and no site of police officers anywhere. It's also a big change from the H-1 Freeway and the Moanalua Freeway in which the traffic is bumper to bumper. By the time you reach H-2, you are so relieved of getting out of the slow moving traffic, that you think you can make it up by speeding on the H-2. Luckily, I didn't get into an accident and I didn't get a traffic violation. I made it to drill on time, but when I got there, again I though of Traffic Psychology and of how foolish I had been driving this way to work. Sure, being on time was important, but it was no where near as important as being safe on the freeways. The only reason I can think of why I drove that way to work, was because I had been weak and I did not have the discipline conform to the laws of traffic.
Convoys in Generation One are described both as positive and negative things. Danell Saito says that it works for her because it keeps her from being tagged by police lasers. But she does also say that with no cars around you, there is a better chance of someone being in your blind spot. Caroline also didn't like traffic convoys because her mind tended to drift off and she thought she might accidentally crash into the person ahead of her. Traffic convoys exists because of people who don't like driving alone. Some people just feel safer when other drivers are around them. For example, if a driver is doing 10 mph over the speed limit and there is a convoy of cars doing the same as he is, then that driver would feel safer that he won't be tagged by a police officer. In another sense, if the same driver came across a driver who was doing a speed limit of 55, that driver would more likely slow down and conform with the traffic laws. It is related to Traffic Psychology precisely for this reason. More people are inclined to conform when they see other people doing the same thing. It works against the laws when people choose to conform with breaking the law.
I had a good experience with driving convoys the same day I had to go to work with the National Guard. It seems that during the same time most of the people going up to Wahiawa also wanted to get there quickly. I say this because everyone driving in my convoy seemed to be doing well above the speed limit. Although I wanted to go faster, I never chose to lead the convoy. I always chose to stay right around the middle of the convoy. Someone told me long ago, that when police officers tag a convoy, they usually tag the first car or they catch the last car. This is not good advice to follow, because if you are speeding, then you're still breaking the law and you are still open to the possibility of being cited for a traffic violation.
Aggressive Driving:
The next topic is aggressive driving. Josephine gave a good definition of aggression. It meant "any form of behavior performed with the intention or goal of physically or psychologically harming another living human being who is motivated to avoid harm." In Traffic Psychology, it would be in the sense of while in a traffic situation. Aggression could be brought on by different things. It is gender biased as Adele Kimura found in an article that men tend to be more aggressive drivers and tend to take more risks. Having ridden with both male and female, I tend to agree with that statement. Adele then went on to describe how women were better drivers then men. Stop, I don't know about this one. Studies would have to be done to show me that men get into more accidents. Then if they do get into more accidents, how does the amount of dangerous situations a man gets out of compare to the amount of dangerous situations a woman gets out of. If the man gets out of dangerous situations more often, then who is the better driver? Women might be safer drivers, and I can accept that.
Aggression can also be blamed by other factors. Caroline described a man who turned out to be an aggressive driver after he was not capable of purchasing an air conditioner for his car. He felt jealous at other drivers who had their windows rolled up and their air conditioner's on. He went as far as to say that these people should be shot. This person was so upset by the heat that he no longer paid attention to the speed limits and the traffic signs. This person with that much hate and frustration should not be allowed to be driving on the roads. He actually had thoughts of ramming his car into the rear end of other cars. There is a difference between being upset and being insane. This person was definitely insane. Is there a psychologist in the house?
Aggressiveness is related to Traffic Psychology in that it affects a way a person drives. Again aggressiveness is very related with tailgating and speeding,. It also greatly affects the way a person changes lanes. Lane changing in traffic is based on how considerate you are of other drivers. You change lanes only when another driver lets you cut into his or her lane. You do the same by letting other people cut into your lane. When your an aggressive driver, you don't care about the other person's feelings, and you just cut right into their lane without asking or even giving them a sign of appreciation after you have changed lanes. Aggression, also keeps you from letting anyone into your lane since all your thinking about is that the lane is yours at the same time you're probably tailgating the person in front of you anyway, to preserve that space. Being aggressive, also means that you will be more willing to take chances that you would might not have ever done if you really thought about it.
There are some things I have noticed that make me more aggressive on the road. First of all, when you get into a fight with somebody, you should never ever get right into your car and drive right away. You should always take a few minutes, to calm down , get your heart beating normal, be conscience about what you are doing and then get into the car. How many times have you seen on TV or in my case, around the neighborhood, a couple fighting that ends up in the man getting into his car, burning out, and driving away. All that aggression has just been transferred from the mate to the road
Another thing that can cause aggressiveness in driving is the type of music you play in your car. Try listening to the Krater, the next time you take a drive. Sooner or later, you'll realize that your driving will greatly resemble the mood of the music. For those of you who don't know, the Krater plays soft, mellow music. I took notice of this once, when I was listening to Kelii Reichel's compact disc. He was singing stuff about "being together", "going back to a place that he loved", you know- really mushy stuff like that. I felt so relaxed and considerate of other drivers. The whole time I was doing the speed limit, and every time I changed lanes, I always used my blinkers and said "Thank You" afterwards. When I got done listening to the compact disc, I put in "Notorious BIG". Notorious Big is very aggressive and popular rap artist. In his music, he talks about "I'm not only a player, I'm the player-president". After awhile, I started taking on that persona and thinking "I was the man!" I began to drive like I was the only one on the road and that the road belong to me. I didn't care how other people felt about me cutting into their lanes. Again, I thought about Traffic Psychology, but all I could remember was the FAQ acronym in Netscape. You know, I always wonder why this is used so frequently Netscape. Where I'm from it does not mean Frequently Asked Questions. Anyway, but at this time it was the way I felt towards other drivers.
Another way to encourage aggressive driving is to become a delivery person. I have not met or seen a delivery driver yet that was not an aggressive driver. There is so much pressure on these drivers to deliver their goods on time. I think a couple of years ago, I remember how Domino's Pizza had to eliminate their "30-minutes or free guarantee". The drivers were just too aggressive and I believe that one of them got into an accident and that cost the company millions of dollars. I can relate to this, since I used to deliver flowers and I knew I was an aggressive driver. When I was in my delivery van, waiting to get onto the freeway, I would drive in the fast lane, and get to the front of the on ramp and cut in at the last second. This was O.K. considering I had to deliver something and I had a deadline. I always realized how aggressive I was at the end of the day when I got into my own car. On the way home, I came to the same on ramp but it was not longer right for me to drive all the way to the front and cut in. I stayed in the slow lane and waited my turn to get onto the freeway. It was not fun waiting, but at least I considered what the other drivers had been going through.
When I drive, I am always considerate of other drivers. I get totally "pissed off" when people cut me off in traffic. I also get very upset at people who tailgate me. Because I get upset at these things, I try very hard to keep myself from doing it to other Drivers. Sometimes, I cannot help myself and cut into other peoples' lanes, I always give them a sign of appreciation. I think that this lessens the anger of the person that I just cutoff.
Driving Personality Makeover:
The last topic I chose to discuss was a driving personality makeover. Jae again, was very helpful with a definition of a driving personality makeover. It is when "you become aware of your driving behaviors and patterns from which you consciously make the effort to improve certain aspects of your driving deemed in appropriate, negligent, unfit, and harmful to yourself and other drivers". For a person to better themselves in driving, they should first realize what a good driver is. A good driver to Shane is "someone who manages to take responsibility for not only their own safety on the roads but also for those of others." Diane Beauchemin brings up a good point that if everyone was a good driver then there would be no need for Traffic Psychology. Unfortunately, everyone needs a driving personality makeover. I would argue with anyone who claims to be a perfect driver. This is because if you believe that you are a perfect driver, then you are probably too arrogant to be on the road. Arrogance on the road brings about unsafe acts. Josephine describes it in her article as the "over confidence phenomenon". A phenomenon in which the driver believes that nothing ever goes wrong with his driving. For a person to be safe on the road, that person must always be looking out for faults in his driving as well as other drivers on the road. To me, driving is an on going learning process. So there will never be a perfect driver since a new experience brings about another knowledge.
In 1991, I had just returned from serving my country. For a year, I had driven a military vehicle through the streets of Seoul, Korea. In Korea, the traffic there is quite different from the traffic here in the states. In Korea, two lane freeway becomes four lanes. It is legal for you to take a right turn from the left lane. If you don't have a horn in Korea, you cannot survive on the road. The traffic there is so horrible that sometimes it would take you an hour to move half a mile. To them, tailgating is not a bad thing. It is their standard way of driving. The cars get so close to one another that the driver in the car next to you could use the ashtray in your car. I could write forever and still not able to describe how bad the traffic was in Korea. To compound this traffic situation, is the foul smell from the Kim Chee (not to offend any Koreans) and all the smog in the city. There are no clean air laws there and I believe licenses are given out by paying for them and not taking a test for it. So for me to have gone through driving through these streets for a whole year, I definitely felt like I was the best driver in Hawaii in 1991. That belief soon diminished.
First of all, if you ever use your horn in Hawaii, you better count on getting into a fight. Be very selective in who you blow your horn at. Another thing is the laws here were made to be followed Try having a point or two on your abstract, you'll be paying for it in insurance premiums. In Korea, we made up our own rules. We were Americans, protecting that country from communist rule (thinking back it wasn't really that noble). But in Hawaii, I was just another "Joe". No special privileges, no rights to do whatever I wanted, and no excuse of ignorance to the local laws. I quickly realized that driving in Hawaii was world's away from driving in Korea. Just because all of the traffic problems were to the extreme in Korea does not mean that I was capable of dealing with any problems I came across in Hawaii.
In conclusion, of all of the topics that I have mentioned, realizing that you are not a perfect driver is the most important. If this is realized, then you'll be more aware while driving on the road and safety will naturally come to play. When you find yourself tailgating, remember to ask yourself, if the person ahead of me suddenly stops, will I have enough time to avoid an accident". Also remember, how mad you would be if someone were to follow you just as close as the person you are following. Consider Shane's paper in which it mentioned that people really do get intimidated by tailgating and if people are too busy worrying about a person tailgating them, then that person might not be able to pay full attention to their driving. A lot of bad traffic habits can be avoided by simply making enough time for yourself to get to where you want to be. Tailgating and speeding are the most obvious results of rushing. Again, this is so discouraging since rushing can be so easily avoided by properly pacing yourself. Aggressiveness is a little harder to adjust. Some people are just born that way, and some people just have dreadful lives. People with these problems should learn to cope with their problems in general. Their driving will then be corrected when their attitudes are changed. People will always be prone to drive in convoys. Most people just do not like to drive alone.
As far as my own driving is concerned, I need to be careful about letting my feelings and attitudes influence the way I drive. I must consider all the consequences and possibilities of my driving recklessly. Most of the time, I am really a very good driver. And I take into consideration the feelings of other drivers around me. If there is one most important aspect of my driving I would like to change, it would be that I am too concerned about the place that I want to go to instead of paying attention to the road ahead of me. In other words I plan too far ahead.