REDUCING TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS BY INCREASING RISK. The weekend Financial Times had an article about experiments (often referred to as Shared Space projects) in a large number of cities to make streets more people friendly by making roads “look like lanes not thoroughfares.” For me, any car free zone is immensely attractive. One of the techniques used is to eliminate stoplights on the theory that a little bit of risk reduces accidents by making people more careful. The claim is that traffic accidents are reduced when it is not clear who has the right of way. This reminds me of Armen Alchian’s proposal that in order to reduce accidents, safety harnesses should be replaced with a large spike mounted in the middle of the steering wheel.
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I’ll always remember the steering wheel spike because Professor Coe quoted it on the first day of class. I’m glad Annalisa got to take economics with him, although he never praised taking the bus to work in her class (you can show up drunk!). Possibly the coolest teacher I’ve had—even cooler than the 30-something Zen Buddhist : o
I was very stressed the one time Phil and I visited Florence, Italy, together because the sidewalks were narrow, the streets filled with cars, motorcycles, etc. and yet people had no hesitation about giving you a good shove as they walked by you. I felt that walking in Florence was a constant attempt to stay on the sidewalk and not under the wheels of a moving vehicle. Now, I’m told, there are many pedestrian areas in Florence that cars are completely banned from. Great!