Joseph Nuhfer

Professor Bret Zawilski

RC 2001-410
20 November 2015
Life in the Fast Lane: The Pros and Cons, and Improvements for a Speedy Driver Society
Travel by automobile used to be, for many people, an activity of leisure and youthful
enjoyment. Before gas prices were high, before police officers made concentrated efforts to
reduce speeding on highways, and before car rides became dominated by texting on cell phones,
car rides used to be a looked-forward-to pastime for many American families. Cruising even
used to be a particularly common social activity during the late 1950s-early 1960s, in which
drivers would drive incredibly slowly with no particular destination in mind. In this age,
efficiency was not the main goal in mind during travel; if anything, the lack of efficiency or a
need for it was a redeemable quality of the experience itself. Driving was a time to have no care
in the world about where you were going, since you truly did not have a place to be. In the
2000s, however, the cultural changes towards the purpose of driving began to take obvious
shape. Some cities, such as Milwaukee, Wisconsin, actually began to start considering cruising a
traffic offense (Cruisers Cars). No longer was driving a time for leisure and taking your time;
frankly, anyone who was taking their time was a nuisance because they were in the way of
people who had places to be. This is the way that the attitude of road travel remains today, a
problem that continues that plague drivers on the roads daily. In order to make a return to the
leisurely travel of the 50s and 60s, and thus make the roads safer and reduce road rage,
mapping software should implement new features that focus less on reducing ETAs, and more on
making car rides more leisurely and enjoyable.
The ultimate demise of American cruising presents a truly interesting societal change that
has come about in the last few decades. It has become evident that people are no longer passive
about the time it takes to get to where they are going; travel has become a task built upon

efficiency. One of the greatest factors contributing to this attitude is the advent of road-mapping
websites and software, such as the current mobile software giant Googles Maps, as well as past
greats like Mapquest and GPS-units such as Garmin products. These software, especially the
newest, most updated versions, are capable of calculating route ETAs (estimated times of arrival)
down to the minute; a user is able to calculate their route (and thus plan their day) with nearmaximum efficiency, coupled with the additional benefit of being able to avoid traffic built-in as
well (Google Maps App Overview). This makes the act of driving a quantitatively measured
act, where the smaller the amount of time driving is, the better the drive is. Many argue that this
outlook on driving can only benefit society; faster is better, after all, especially concerning
industries such as the postal services and road transportation companies (also known as
trucking). However, while these benefits are certainly true, the dependence upon this efficiency
causes its own significant problems. A society that is always in the hurry on the roads gains its
own particular dangers, which is include risk of traffic incident and, consequently, endangerment
of other drivers lives. Drivers are often so focused on arriving quickly, that they are less
attentive to the roads and less focused on being safe. In fact, in a study done by Washington
University, adults ages 65 and older were shown to commonly be distracted by devices
(ADULTS).
In the United States alone, 66% of traffic fatalities are known to be caused by aggressive
driving (Aggressive Driving). Road rage has even become an often coined term in society
(ROAD RAGE), originating from a group of freeway shootings that happened in Los Angeles,
California in 1987-1988 (The Big Apple). Drivers are encouraged to be reckless and
aggravated towards other drivers when every driver is competing to have the most efficient (and
thus better) drive. With such emphasis on ETA, making driving effectively a race, these sorts of

results are to be expected. A culture that urges its drivers to be in such a hurry, gains downfalls
such as these.
Such an attitude pertaining to road travel fuels the human tendency towards aggression.
Though some studies have concluded that aggression is not innate, it is certainly still widespread,
and an urge to be efficient and in a hurry on the roads only adds fuel to the fire (Is Aggression
Genetic?). It has become a societal expectation to drive as fast as is possible and legal (though
many drivers push the limit and some blatantly ignore the traffic laws). On major highways in
the United States, this expectation has become very evident in the necessity of the fast lane. In
fact, most states actually restrict the use of the left lane (which is the one most often considered
the fast lane) by slow-moving vehicles that are also not passing any others. State laws like this
actually reflect the societal expectation to go fast.
Google Maps not only offers this sort of navigation for drivers, but has support for those
whom are biking, walking, or even seeking transit (Google Maps App). The software serves
not only to map out roads, but even to map out bike/walking paths, as well as bus routes
(Appalachian States AppalCart route is actually stored in Google Maps, and instructions can be
given for when to catch the bus through the software). It is all about getting wherever you are
going the fastest you can. It seems as if software like this are like a hand on our back, pushing us
quicker along our way, and making sure we do not lose any time. Many people, when traveling
to cities they have never been, or even locations overseas, will use Google Maps to help them
find their way to desired businesses and landmarks. This certainly seems to be a true positive for
those who are already nervous about being in places foreign to them. However, as The
Telegraph writer Lizzie Porter states in her article on Google, this sort of service can also serve
to take the spontaneity out of travel. (Six Ways) When you always have a place to be, and

you are going there as fast as possible, there is no longer any true randomness to your travels; no
more stumbling upon hidden treasures when your path becomes so linear. As I suggested earlier,
a simple change such as a scenic option in mapping software could definitely help to avoid this
growing problem.
Many attempts to stop traffic incidents caused by people in a hurry have already been
made, and have had reasonably desirable effects. Traffic tickets are regularly given by police
officers both as an attempt to enforce the law, and as an attempt to reduce speeding on roadway.
Studies have shown that traffic tickets have greatly reduced speeding drivers (Do Speeding
Tickets). Cameras have also been placed in many red lights, in an attempt to catch people
crossing intersections at wrong times, and prevent them from endangering peoples lives later on.
Their results have also been desirable (Red Light Camera). However, these improvements are
certainly not enough. If the aim is to change the overall theme of driving itself, then changes to
mapping software are even more appropriate to stop these incidents.
There are many changes that mapping software could make that could certainly help a
great deal with this ever-growing problem. Google Maps could offer scenic options; features
like a free drive feature where one could drive freely, only being warned about possible
dangerous routes, would certainly be sufficient. Other ideas that could possibly be proposed
could be a consistent reminder to drive safe, or a feature that warns you when you are driving
over the speed limit, and encourages you to slow down. These are solutions that just I personally
have proposed. Regardless, the solution certainly seems to be encouraging society to be less
focused on the fast aspect of driving, and more focused on safety.
Mapping software are certainly not a complete negative to society whatsoever. Accurate
ETAs and the ability to route around traffic have saved many people from being late from their

jobs, and have gotten people home to their families much faster. Long-distance traveling has
become especially easier. No longer do people have to rely on physical maps that are often hard
to read and could easily cause drivers to be in accidents. With the press of a button, you can be
guided on the quickest and easiest route to your destination. Most people no longer get lost on
the roadways to the use of mapping software, which can be accessed quickly in a pinch from
their mobile phones.
These merits of mapping software are completely valid, and are a great argument for
mapping software to continue to have a very prominent and important function in our travels for
years to come. However, the true change that mapping software must pose, regardless of its
current merits, is that it must begin emphasizing the benefits of spontaneous travel. The last
thing that a society like ours that is always in a hurry needs is applications like Google Maps
hurrying us along even further. Traveling has become, for the most part, streamlined, meant
only to go from point A to point B, with no intent of stopping along the way. In order to make
a real change, mapping software must make significant changes to their attitude towards travel,
and in effect make significant changes to peoples attitudes as well.

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