5 ms·
> A year or two after a new, more intrusive format became ubiquitous, its performance would fall back to the old format's When Sweden changed driving side, tha
by kartan 9y ago
> A year or two after a new, more intrusive format became ubiquitous, its performance would fall back to the old format's
When Sweden changed driving side, that is exactly what happened.
"The relatively smooth changeover saw a reduction in the number of accidents. On the day of the change, only 157 minor accidents were reported, of which only 32 involved personal injuries, with only a handful serious. On the Monday following Dagen H, there were 125 reported traffic accidents, compared to a range of 130 to 198 for previous Mondays, none of them fatal. Experts suggested that changing to driving on the right reduced accidents while overtaking, as people already drove left-hand drive vehicles, thereby having a better view of the road ahead; additionally, the change made a marked surge in perceived risk that exceeded the target level and thus was followed by very cautious behavior that caused a major decrease in road fatalities. Indeed, fatal car-to-car and car-to-pedestrian accidents dropped sharply as a result, and the number of motor insurance claims went down by 40%.
These initial improvements did not last, however. The number of motor insurance claims returned to 'normal' over the next six weeks and, by 1969, the accident rates were back to the levels seen before the change." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H
- Swizec 9y agoThe solution is simple: change driving sides every 10 years.
- usrusr 9y agoAnd when people get used to that, start each week with a new drive side bit polled from a cryptographically sound RNG. If that still isn't enough: quantum uncertainty, everybody does not know wether or not they are on the right side until they meet oncoming traffic.
- gravicle 9y agoEvery 6 weeks
- llukas 9y agoThis illustrates that if drivers feel less safe then they drive more safely and pay attention more. It is one of motivations for removing all signage so drivers feel less safe permamently. http://thecityfix.com/blog/naked-streets-without-traffic-lights-improve-flow-and-safety/ http://thecityfix.com/blog/naked-streets-without-traffic-lig... https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/04/removal-road-markings-safer-fewer-accidents-drivers https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/04/remova...
- brianberns 9y agoI think that removing all signage would have a similar effect: short-term reduction in accidents, but then a rebound (or worse) once drivers adapt.
- apsdsm 9y agoOkay, fine. Then we ramp it up by employing hundreds of clowns to hide in the bushes on the side of the road and jump out when the driver least expects it.
- brianberns 9y agoHah. I say we skip the middlemen and deliver electric shocks directly to the driver's hands through the steering wheel at random intervals.
- notatoad 9y agoin denmark, they tried using topless women for speed control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb07a2YGDKM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb07a2YGDKM
- mikeash 9y agoReplace all the signs once the rebound begins, and you’ll re-befuddle everyone. Take the signs back down once that rebound hits, and repeat.
- userbinator 9y ago