Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2021 October 14

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October 14

driving anxiety

Are there good treatments for this? Are they effective? I have a family member who is ok with driving around town but is scared of driving on the freeway. This is a pain in the neck for me because I end up getting dragooned into driving her places. Even around town, her driving style seems to be assuming all other drivers on the road are blind idiots who are trying to run into her: for example, she doesn't like driving into an intersection when she has the green light, unless all cars coming from the cross direction are already completely stopped.

She has taken a few driving lessons on the freeway that don't seem to have helped. I personally find local driving more stressful than highway driving, because of the unpredictable stops and starts. On the freeway I can just turn on the radio and drive steadily. Locally I always prefer to turn off the radio since local driving requires more attention, it seems to me. So I think the person in question might be particularly afraid of high speed collisions, fwiw. Thanks for any suggestions. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 01:23, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

You may be looking for the Wikipedia article Anxiety disorder. Doug butler (talk) 01:39, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Thanks. That article wasn't very helpful but it was a nice thought. It referred to specific phobia which describes a more extreme type of reaction than what the person experiences. It's also not an entirely irrational fear (car crashes are definitely not to be taken lightly). I'll keep looking. It seems potentially difficult. 2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA (talk) 06:51, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

@2602:24A:DE47:B8E0:1B43:29FD:A863:33CA:: There is an article about driving phobia, but it requires better sources. --Error (talk) 11:16, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

If she's that nervous driving, would you want to be a passenger? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 11:59, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

If she watches "Idiots in Cars" videos, tell her to stop watching.  --Lambiam 12:07, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Similar anxieties are common, and not unreasonable given the possible consequences of accidents: my greatest difficulty as a new-ish driver was driving at night in rain, which presents visual-interpretation challenges, particularly to a spectacles-wearer who already has an extra two surfaces between themselves and the windscreen. My mother gave up driving lessons because she could never muster enough confidence to cope with other traffic, but this is comparatively rare.

The surest cure is experience, which helps to build one's Situational awareness and driving competence, which should be adequate in a recently-qualified driver, but which should continue to improve literally for decades. Assuming that other drivers may be blind idiots is a useful approach to a degree: Defensive driving techniques allow one to anticipate possible problems well enough in advance to negate or avoid such situations.

Striking the balance between reasonable caution and the degree of boldness expected of one by other drivers (the absence of which may confuse them) is a skill that, like any other, takes time to develop. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.193.128.151 (talk) 19:53, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Yes, along with what I might call "taking charge" of the car, rather than being a passive observer while driving. That may be harder for some personalities to do. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:28, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

I think a key issue here may be how long this person has been driving which AFAICT hasn't really been mentioned. If this is a relatively new driver e.g. one who qualified in the past 5 years with only limited experience driving since then, there's a fair chance that more experience will help, not just on highways but in general. While not cheap, encouraging this person to drive more will help although it's something likely to take months to years (depending how often they drive). However if this is a person who's been driving for 20 years, at least for regular trips for shopping etc if not also commuting to work or picking up children or whatever, then I'd say this isn't going to happen without some sort of specific intervention. Either way taking a course on defensive driving might help, or maybe it'll make things worse. Nil Einne (talk) 19:52, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

As a confirmed fan of 'Idiots in Cars' videos, I feel I must recommend weekly exposure to this type of compilation (viewer discretion advised). I simply adore driving, and I've made my fair share of mistakes. I use these vids as a challenge, to try to predict what's going to happen, and who's going to make it happen.* If you overdose on these vids, you come to realise why most accidents occur: driving too fast and/or too close, drunk/falling asleep, heavy rain or wind or snow, on the phone, fools running red lights, asshole macho attitudes, insane overtaking, undertaking, racing on the highway, etc. Vast numbers of drivers are evidently on autopilot, and the simple expedient of hanging back an extra 50 feet would save thousands of lives per year. Mind you, I'm from the UK, and British and Irish drivers are among the safest on earth: world top ten and Europe top six. NB According to this list, Russia is marginally better for death rates then the USA. @OP: I hope she pays you for your time and effort, if not, make it a pre-condition.

* What these dash cam vids also show is that totally random shit really does happen all the time. So it's best to be prepared for the worst and, while driving, to concentrate on nothing else but driving. In addition to a defensive driving course, I suggest a practical one-day course on 'How to deal with an emergency while driving', including 'Where not to stop', 'How to avoid hitting someone who's just decided to turn left without indicating', and lots of skid pan.

By the way, "On the freeway I can just turn on the radio and drive steadily." is your own personal invitation to disaster, in my opinion, because you're listening to the radio and not thinking about driving: both yours and everyone else's. When's the last time you looked in your rear view mirror? MinorProphet (talk) 02:27, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

Having the radio on whilst driving reduces stress because local radio stations provide regular traffic bulletins. 2A00:23C7:EC22:8A00:5191:FD6:349C:8036 (talk) 12:56, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

Horror Compilation Book from 1980s

I have been trying to locate a book I read a lot when I was a little girl. It was a volume of horror stories, at least a dozen maybe more. The most well known in the book was King of the Cats. There was also a story about a Hungarian (or Turkish) family which moved to the United States and because of daylight savings time the little boy became a werewolf while he was out playing with his friend. There was also a VERY sad story about a vampire family reunion, how they came from all around the world, but the one son in the family was a "throwback" and had been born mortal. The last scene was he was crying himself to sleep while his mother told him he would be remembered by all the other vampires after he died. I think it was 1987 when I read this book, does anyone know the title?? -KTcup82 (talk) 06:05, 14 October 2021 (UTC) FOLLOWUP: the Vampire story was apparently the 1946 Ray Bradbury story "The Homecoming". — Preceding unsigned comment added by KTcup82 (talk • contribs) 06:09, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Dying of Fright: Masterpieces of the Macabre (ISBN 0-684-14624-X)?  --Lambiam 11:52, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Or Alfred Hitchcocks' Monster Museum, which was republished in 1982 and contains both "The King of the Cats" and "The Homecoming".^[1]  --Lambiam 12:03, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Yes! It was almost certainly the Hitchcock book. The werewolf story was "The Young One", also in that book. Thanks! -KTcup82 (talk) 16:49, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Artist: "Tomi"?

Who is the creator of this 1929 brochure illustraton, whose signature looks like "Tomi"? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 15:27, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

I tried at this website which lets you look through various artists signatures by letter. Couldn't find it. It may be Tom. and not Tomi, so that may help with your searches. There was an artist named Tomi Ungerer, but he's too young for your work. Can't find anything else. --Jayron32 16:18, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Also, the brochure appears to be from Thomas Cook & Son, if that helps your research. --Jayron32 16:20, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

This may be the same brochure. --Jayron32 16:22, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

I thought maybe Tom Thomson who worked for a graphic design company "that specialized in design and lettering work... and introduced Art Nouveau, metal engraving and the four-colour process to Canada", but his later signature is quite different [2] and he died in 1917. Alansplodge (talk) 18:10, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

What's the term for a petro nation?

You know, a country that's beholden at least partly to the oil industry. I can't remember the term, but it's got a bit of a negative connotation. It's a petro-something. Imagine Reason (talk) 23:38, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Petrostate 2A00:23C8:4384:F00:5C7A:475B:7184:B0A2 (talk) 00:39, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

I've also seen "petrocracy" with some use. See [3] or [4], both in reference to the government of Venezuela. --Jayron32 12:09, 15 October 2021 (UTC)

I guess that's the word, but somehow it doesn't ring as loud a bell as I'd think. Imagine Reason (talk) 13:19, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

I'm fairly certain I've seen an academic source somewhere referring to 'petro-something despotism', in analogy to Karl August Wittfogel's theories regarding 'hydraulic empires' and 'oriental despotism'. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what the term used was either.'Petrocratic' would fit. As for whether it is an accurate description for anything, opinions will probably differ. AndyTheGrump (talk) 14:43, 17 October 2021 (UTC)