THE IDEAL IS SOME TRAFFIC AND SOME ACCIDENTS. Economists are trained not to look for perfection. The profession deals with optimizing subject to limitations on resources. Thus, economists look for trade offs and believe there are always possibilities for substitution. (One common example is that a sweater can substitute for a certain amount of heating oil). When I was studying economics in the sixties, there was an economist named Stefan Valavanis-Vail whose articles I sought out because he was a gifted teacher. Memorably, he pointed out that for an economist, the goal is not to eliminate traffic accidents. An economist would expect an optimum to involve some traffic and some accidents. Ironically and tragically, he was killed by a stray bullet at a young age.
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I think it is utterly amazing that more people in America are not killed by traffic accidents. It seems pretty easy to get a driver’s license, and there are always cocktail parties to which people drive–and from which they drive away! If people weren’t afraid of being hurt themselves, or being inconvenienced by all the paperwork, there would probably be many more accidents. As long as there isn’t a supercar that can prevent all injuries, we’re looking out for each other because we don’t want to get hit ourselves. But, still, that doesn’t explain why so many people who mess up every day seem to avoid accidents on the road most of the time.
Mrs. S: In my mind, insurance rates are the spikes staring you in the face as you drive.