Peer pressure is nothing new and something we’ve all encountered. I want to point out, though, that you may find it in places you don’t expect. One of those places falls squarely in my area of expertise, so I’m going to tell you about it in this week’s coaching tip.
Peer pressure while you’re driving on the road is something you’re going to have to deal with. In our course, we talk about “the Pack”, that cluster of vehicles that travels in a clump, going about the same speed. They want to go as fast as the traffic around them and the way the assure themselves they are is to use up all the space in front of their vehicle.
Some of those drivers in the pack are there because of peer pressure. They were driving at a comfortable pace, well behind the pack with a good following distance. Then vehicles began to pass them, and they began to think they might be one of the outcasts, one of the slow drivers. So they speed up and get in with the pack, to let the other drivers know that they are not one of the slow drivers.
When you’re driving, there will be times when the vehicles around you will pass you to join the pack in front of you that you’re staying well behind, just like a good collision-free driver. Don’t take the bait. Stay the course and stay out of the pack.
Watch this video to see Patrick Barrett, the Driver Education Guru, explain more about how peer pressure rears its ugly head in driver education.