Ralph Nader wrote, "Erratic driving will always be characteristic of the traffic scene; ehxortation and stricter law enforcement have at best a limited effect." (The Nation, 11 Apr 1959.) He was writing about the safety of vehicles themselves, especially the safety for the drivers and passengers. Largely based on his crusading aided by leaps in technologies, vehicles are now safer for all. Accidents were made safer. (Traffic engineering too has improved road safety, but this was called for later.)
Technologies and regulations, while having huge impact in reducing the imact of impacts, has not been able to address the first point, that human error remains an issue. It may also be likely that while many technologies improve safety for all, vehicles that handle smoothly, are quieter, have tinted windows that mask the driver, and loaded with distracting technologies may increase danger to people outside them.
So what can be done to address speeding in the neighborhood? Behavior modification? Implementation of existing technologies or development of new ones? What are likely solutions? We need them, but can we identify them.
Technologies and regulations, while having huge impact in reducing the imact of impacts, has not been able to address the first point, that human error remains an issue. It may also be likely that while many technologies improve safety for all, vehicles that handle smoothly, are quieter, have tinted windows that mask the driver, and loaded with distracting technologies may increase danger to people outside them.
So what can be done to address speeding in the neighborhood? Behavior modification? Implementation of existing technologies or development of new ones? What are likely solutions? We need them, but can we identify them.
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