When the DOT or City Planner change a roadway, 9 times out of 10 they slow traffic down. They add traffic lights where they are unnecessary. They reduce speed limits. They add signage and warnings and all sorts of other measures intended to make the road safer. Why do they do this? Because statistics tell them that slower is safer. I say there is a basic flaw in that reasoning. In a microcosm, yes, slower is safer. If two vehicles collide, obviously, the slower they were going the less damage will be done. But when you step back and look at the whole picture, you realize that the longer you keep people on the road, the more likely they are to have an accident. I'm not talking about fatigue here. I'm talking pure statistical nature of driving. Let's say that there is a 1 in 1000 chance of a person being in an accident every hour. Well, if you keep them on the road for 2 hours instead of one, you just doubled your chances of an accident. (Of course, I made those numbers up so they'd be easy to follow, they are not scientific.)

What happens when you slow traffic down? You keep people on the road longer - which causes more accidents. You also give people the feeling that they are wasting their time and could be doing something more productive. That's when they start talking on phones, texting, sending emails, reading papers, etc. etc. etc. That behavior causes a lot more accidents. Even for those that don't multi-task while driving, the longer you keep them on the road and the slower you make them go, the more likely they are to get bored and not pay attention. How many accidents could have been prevented if everyone involved had been paying attention to their driving?


All of this part I'm not buying. At what point is it fast enough? Some people will always want to go faster. The always has to be a line somewhere. The problem isn't the speed in My opinion it's the difference in speed between cars and the attention given to the main task of driving. Also I'm not buying into that bored part. People for the most part will do whatever they can get away with right or wrong. If I can bend a rule a little maybe then just because I don't agree with it or it's just not for me I can bend it a little further. We had two crashes this week on the same road within an hour, one was texting and the other was reaching for something in the back seat, both in heavy traffic. Right turn on red has become right turn without slowing down and looking as you're going through the intersection.

That said I do agree with you on the red light camera stuff - a money maker for the most part, but If you aren't running the light you won't get a ticket.