Public Saftey Fail
Via Radley Balko, here is a great article on 5 great public safety measures that failed, and why. Here is one brief excerpt, on why speed limits fail:
Because, and this surprised the hell out of us, people aren't completely retarded. As it turns out, people tend to drive at speeds they feel comfortable driving. Yes, there are reckless madmen out there, but they're not going to obey a couple of digits on a sign anyway. It just becomes a make-work project for traffic cops.
Bob Hawkins:
One of the odd facts about people. As stupid as they're willing to be on their own, they're extremely resistant when you try to make them be stupid.
April 7, 2009, 5:52 pmElamBend:
I disagree with Radly on one point. They are more than just make-work projects for cops, they are fantastic revenue generators for municipalities.
April 7, 2009, 6:41 pmJohn Moore:
Traffic engineers understand that the best way to set a speed limit (which can be thought of as an advisory) is to measure the 85th percentile the speed naturally driven , round it up to an even 5 or 10 mph, and call it the speed limit.
Unfortunately, the rapid proliferation of speed radars has made it way too profitable for government to ever consider anything rational like that. I normally pass 1 red light camera and two lurking photo-radar trucks on my 11 mile commute.
April 7, 2009, 8:57 pmA.N.Onymous:
Get a Spel Checquer?
"Public Saftey Fail" ?? Perhaps you meant "Safety"?
April 8, 2009, 12:09 am