“Are you getting arrested, Daddy?” My six-year-old asked while the NY State Trooper walked back to his car after clocking me 20 miles per hour over the speed limit. I reassured her that I was not going to prison but admitted that I was probably getting a ticket.
A long family road trip had made me impatient, and after taking extra time at Niagara Falls, I was anxious to get to Syracuse. (In hindsight, I would have relaxed if I had known the sketchiness of our future motel: bars on the windows, busted security cameras, and people getting high in the stairwell).
I did indeed get a ticket, and for the next few days, worried about what it would be like to navigate the Broome County court system. But imagine my surprise when I found the whole process to be affirming! As a moral psychologist who studies how our moral minds work, my experience left me feeling hopeful about the relationship between science and our government (well, one local government).
To be clear, getting a ticket still sucks, especially when you’re forced to look into the eyes of your disappointed children. (And to be clear, traffic stops can be downright terrifying and dangerous for some folks, especially Black people). No one likes being singled out for doing a bad thing (allegedly!), and no one likes paying a fine and getting points on their driver’s license.
But Broome County has a special program that encourages rehabilitation over retribution, “a diversion program.” So long as it’s a simple ticket—you’re not a trucker, there’s no property damage, you weren’t covered in cocaine in a stolen car—you can apply to take an online defensive driving course (for a fee, obviously.)
The course would be about psychology and behavior, and I was prepared to be disgusted at discussion of our Freudian “id” or our “collective unconsciousness” of recklessness. But, WOW, I was actually impressed at the course and think it should be required viewing for all drivers (and Psych 101 students).
To be fair, the first lecture left me a bit cold: the speaker told me that I had to watch this video because I was an ANTISOCIAL degenerate.
The lecturer then told me the secret of becoming a pro-social person — which I someday hope to become — was simply thinking better thoughts. Gee, that’s great. So, I just need to control my thoughts. Too bad my graduate school advisor, Dr. Dan Wegner, showed that controlling your thoughts is almost impossible. Don’t think of a white bear! Now, what’s on your mind...a white bear?
But then I got to the specific, defensive driving part of the course, and it was amazing. It felt like they did a deep dive into my book, Outraged and scoured Google Scholar for the most science-backed lecture possible. They talked about how people get angry at others when they perceive them as threats. They talked about how our societal rules are social constructions that enable cooperation, going back to the ancient Code of Hammurabi. ... WHAT?! Amazing.
This lecture was more informative and accurate than actual science videos! And this is coming from the Broome County DA’s office?? At a time when public trust in government is at an all-time low, I was delighted to see social science accurately and appropriately translated to the public—or in my case, to us antisocial degenerates.
Examples of great science: When discussing the pitfalls of drowsy driving, they interviewed a famous sleep expert who educated viewers about our body’s natural biological clock (the circadian pacemaker) and how to maintain balance (homeostasis). To illustrate the risks of distracted driving, they used powerful graphs to show that traffic deaths account for more deaths than war fatalities.
I’m not saying everything was perfect. They could have had cooler special effects (at least a couple of explosions would’ve hit home their points). But the whole experience was like buying a gas station hot dog and then receiving a 7-course dinner from a Michelin-starred chef.
This mandatory driving course gave me hope because — let’s face it — there are so many examples of terrible science in the world. Companies pay zillions to use the Myers-Briggs personality test even though it predicts nothing. Doctors ignore the science to prescribe more costly brand-name medications because they get financial rewards from pharmaceutical companies. Dog lovers give their pets treats when they bark to “distract them” but really it just rewards them.
Of course, I don’t know if this defensive driving intervention Worked with a capital W. I drove home the other day going 4 mph over the limit (allegedly), but I do feel committed to driving safer. And importantly, other than feeling a bit irked at being initially called antisocial, this defensive driving training did not make me feel defensive.
If you want someone to change their (problematic) behavior, making them feel defensive can seriously backfire, prompting behaviors like reactance, anger, and unwillingness to re-assess a situation. Defensiveness can also destroy your relationships, that’s why the famous marriage research John Gottman called it one of the four horsemen of divorce. It also erodes political discourse.
I’m not saying you should speed in Broome County just to watch this course, but I will definitely try to show my kids this video when they turn 16. The bigger point is that, in a world where science (and scientists) are constantly under attack, there are still shining examples where people lean on the best empirical work, and those examples can be found in the strangest of places. So, empirically-minded readers, have hope that there are governments out there that care about the data. And please, if you stumble upon a good example of science in the real-world, I do hope you’ll celebrate it and share it (or put it in the comments below!)
Drive safe!
(A big shoutout to the Gold Cross Safety Corporation, who created this driving course!)
Are you calling John Gottman serious rigorous science?