Why Does Driving Bring Out the Worst in People?

[Zeno Swijtink]

Why Does Driving Bring Out the Worst in People?


Is it the looking at other people through a window?

Is it the enormous added force given to one's body, so that even the weakest weakling can harm anything in its way?

Is it that one can only see other people, but not hear them or sense them in any other way?

Is it the seat belts that give an added feel of invincibility?

Is it that you are able to sit while moving?


Has there been any research on this?

[Zeno Swijtink]

Technology and Values: Essential ... - Google Books

[CowGal]

I didn't feel like reading the long document provided for a response. Why not just encapsulate what is said into a few sentences? Some of these posts are just too long. But I do think providing a link to a document is okay.

The answer to me seems clear, too much testosterone.

I could tell you some stories, but I don't want everyone jumping in and using capital letters again.

Why Does Driving Bring Out the Worst in People?


Is it the looking at other people through a window?

Is it the enormous added force given to one's body, so that even the weakest weakling can harm anything in its way?

Is it that one can only see other people, but not hear them or sense them in any other way?

Is it the seat belts that give an added feel of invincibility?

Is it that you are able to sit while moving?


Has there been any research on this?

[podfish]

I think there's a lot to say without going as far into its cosmic meanings as Browning does. A lot of it is duh-obvious, too.
- cars are hard to operate well, but too easy to operate adequately
- the driver feels anonymous most places he operates the vehicle
- for most, driving is usually a means to an end, a more-or-less tedious step required for them to achieve their real goal
- there's not a lot of consensus on how to apply the 'rules of the road' (how religiously to drive exactly the speed limit, when to defer right-of-way, etc).
- it's extremely difficult to communicate between vehicles. You don't have much use of body language and almost no audible forms of communication.
- the driver is insulated with a lot of little comforts and so feels detached from his environment
- at the same time, a vehicle is big and potentially fast and has a big impact on the immediate environment
- people's senses evolved to handle traveling at walking speeds, not speeds of five to thirty times that.
- people are soft and can comfortably bump into each other when traveling in herds. Those instincts don't work in herds of cars.
- the answer seems clear, not enough testosterone - more seriously, mismatches of testosterone between drivers.

To say 'driving brings out the worst in people' is an easy truism but it really isn't true. There are lots of times to see the worst in people. In the more petty meaning of the phrase, that people seem more willing to be discourteous, I think you'd see the same if you recreated any public interaction that shared the handicaps I list above. Put a bunch of busy people with something they need to accomplish NOW into fat suits, make them wear earplugs and crowd them together, and it'd be just as bad. It's a miracle that driving works at all. When you're mixing someone who's totally disinterested in the task of driving and who's in no particular hurry, with people who can focus on the task and want to get it over as quickly and efficiently as they can, but give them almost no tools to communicate but a horn or finger gestures, it's no surprise that it turns out like this.
I yield the floor to someone who might want to take up the deeper psychological and philosophical meanings that Browning is clearly more interested in!

[CSummer]

Driving does not always or only bring out the worst in people. There is often evidenced generosity, kindness and other human qualities (in my experience).

My view of the "ocean we swim in" is that most of us carry certain unmet emotional needs buried deep in the unconscious. Driving a car can to some extent give the illusion of some of these needs being met, in particular the "need" to have control or power - which is really a compensation for an unconscious sense of powerlessness or helplessness. The other is an illusion of safety due to being surrounded in an enclosure that has certain features that contribute to that illusion (not an unintentional aspect of the design, I'm sure). Many of us do carry an unconscious unmet need for safety on some level. We tend to create every situation we're in as something that meets these needs - and yet be quite unaware we are doing so.

So when we're driving we can get into (unconsciously, still) this illusory state of feeling as though certain deep needs were being met, which may begin to open us to a deeper, more vulnerable (e.g., infant or child) level of our psyche. When something occurs that doesn't fit the illusion, e.g., someone cuts us off or pulls out in front of us, it can threaten to really trigger the old unmet need for safety, as the illusion is suddenly reversed. Where I felt safe, I now feel endangered, and that feels all the more frightening because of the disillusionment that seems to violate my more vulnerable state.

One thing that helps me is feeling grateful for considerate, careful drivers (I'll see if I can remember to do this more often!). Another is to remember that all of my responses are optional - all of them. As soon as I can become aware of what I'm feeling and thinking, I have the choice of changing it. When it comes to driving, I can really be my own worst enemy! Imagining that the problem - or the solution - is somewhere out there (e.g., that I need someone to be other than as they are in order for me to feel okay) can really get me stuck. So for me, the best practice is to use driving as an opportunity to practice noticing my responses and remembering that my greatest (and only real) control is over how I respond.

By the way, this is a "sermon" and reflection to myself that you get to listen in on. I'm grateful to Zeno for posting this question!

He also asked:

> Has there been any research on this?

I could say I've been 'researching' it for about 45 years, most of which time my 'experiments' haven't had great results. I'm currently working with the above "theories" and have high expectations for more positive outcomes.

Clint

Why Does Driving Bring Out the Worst in People?


Is it the looking at other people through a window?

Is it the enormous added force given to one's body, so that even the weakest weakling can harm anything in its way?

Is it that one can only see other people, but not hear them or sense them in any other way?

Is it the seat belts that give an added feel of invincibility?

Is it that you are able to sit while moving?


Has there been any research on this?

[Andy3]

Maybe it's because our infrastructure is designed for about 1/3 of our current population and our politicians are allowing even more growth without providing for improved roads and highways. Congestion causes frustration and frustration brings out the worst in people.

[mareee]

considering the amount of cars on the road, it seems to me that more good driving occurs than bad, and cognitive and intuitive responses in action on the whole are a true testament of overall wellness. when i find myself observing bad driving i ask myself, am i looking for it, where is my energy, do I have set preconceived ideas (pet peeves) about OTHERS driving?

[kpage9]

no, driving is really getting worse. i've been driving for 44 years now, most of it in the bay area, and what i experience on the road sometimes makes me despair for the future of human civilization. Domination, competition and obstruction are becoming the norm, butwhat really chills me is the focused amusement i see on the faces of the people who speed up to keep others from changing lanes. What IS this!! What ever happened to oxytocin? The milk of human kindness?


kathy

considering the amount of cars on the road, it seems to me that more good driving occurs than bad, and cognitive and intuitive responses in action on the whole are a true testament of overall wellness. when i find myself observing bad driving i ask myself, am i looking for it, where is my energy, do I have set preconceived ideas (pet peeves) about OTHERS driving?

[Dark Shadows]

I meant this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4ekylbTri4

[someguy]

When a person is under stress, their body goes into a fight-or-flight response. The adrenal glands kick into high gear, pumping out adrenalin, cortisol, and related hormones. Blood flow is sent to the brain and extremities, diverting it away from more non-essential activities such as digestion. The body starts rapidly converting fats, proteins, and glycogen reserves into glucose or blood sugar, to give us energy for the fight-or-flight. Regardless of the actual situation we are confronted with, our bodies are preparing to either run away really really fast, or do battle with whatever is "threatening" us. Obviously, neither of these options is acceptable when you are stuck in traffic, so all that extra energy has to go somewhere.

[kpage9]

It has not always been thus. The first 2/3 of my driving life, more or less, there was more of a norm of--like i said before--the milk of human kindness flowing relatively freely on the road. We motioned to each other to go ahead, we made space for those that needed it, we waved back when someone kindly let us in.

So the need for cortisol, adrenaline and other fight-or-flight neurochemicals only came up in emergencies. Now there is a perception (and that's all it takes) of constant threat: I think we've reached a critical mass of people for whom domination IS survival--hence the above-mentioned milk has been replaced by the battery acid of stress chemicals.

And boy is it contagious.

kathy

When a person is under stress, their body goes into a fight-or-flight response. The adrenal glands kick into high gear, pumping out adrenalin, cortisol, and related hormones. Blood flow is sent to the brain and extremities, diverting it away from more non-essential activities such as digestion. The body starts rapidly converting fats, proteins, and glycogen reserves into glucose or blood sugar, to give us energy for the fight-or-flight. Regardless of the actual situation we are confronted with, our bodies are preparing to either run away really really fast, or do battle with whatever is "threatening" us. Obviously, neither of these options is acceptable when you are stuck in traffic, so all that extra energy has to go somewhere.

[2Bwacco]

it appears to me folks are constantly rushing. This is something they are bringing to bear on themselves, setting a standard they feel they must follow.

the other day a fellow started to make a left turn into my path; he was rushing since he saw a break in traffic. He wanted me to pass so he could turn rapidly into a parking lot. Since i had to slow down for stopped traffic ahead, that threw a monkeywrench into his plan.

His response? Yelling/Screaming at the TOP OF HIS LUNGS: "FU***!!!!!! MOVE STUPID!!!!!!"

there is simply no excuse to treat others in that fashion.

i took a picture of his truck.