The Washington Monthly

June 30, 2003

TRAFFIC TICKETS....Researchers at Stanford University have concluded that traffic tickets save lives:

The team examined the records of drivers in Ontario, Canada, and found that receiving a traffic ticket reduces a driver's risk of dying in a crash by 35 percent in the weeks following the citation. "You don't think the police are doing a public service when they issue tickets, but traffic enforcement has a huge public-health benefit," said [Robert] Tibshirani, professor of health research and policy at Stanford and study co-author. "It may be a nuisance to receive a ticket but it could be helpful."

I have two comments:

I would bloody well hope this was the case. If handing out tickets had no effect on people's driving habits, then enforcing traffic laws would be sort of pointless, wouldn't it?
Since the effect apparently lasts only a few weeks, that means that traffic cops would have to hand out a dozen tickets per year per driver to keep our roads safe. I think I'll pass on that.

Science marches on.

—Kevin Drum 3:39 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (0)

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