What is it about?
We tend to think that safety systems in our cars make us, well, safer... But this is not always the case. Our increased sense of safety triggers a compensating mechanism. So, when we feel safer we compensate by behaving more recklessly. Different drivers react differently to safety systems. For some drivers, there is no change in their speeding behavior. But drivers who are more prone to violations tend to speed (and receive speeding tickets) when they have safety systems installed in their cars. This is because they subconsciously compensate for their increased sense of safety.
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Photo by Jan Baborák on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Installing cars' safety systems in not beneficial to all drivers, because it triggers some of them to drive more recklessly. Policymakers should be aware that for some drivers these systems trigger dangerous driving. Drivers should be aware of their own potential reaction to an increased sense of safety.
Perspectives
This sensation has always puzzled me: the safer I feel, the more I am willing to take risks. In many cases this feeling yields positive results. But it has occurred to me that, when driving, if I feel safe then I take more risks, and this risk taking does not only affect me, but also other road users. This is why it was important for me, and for the excellent research group I am part of, to investigate cases where a sense of safety is not always a good thing.
Dr. Stav Rosenzweig
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Are car safety systems associated with more speeding violations? Evidence from police records in Israel, PLoS ONE, August 2023, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286622.
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