Originally Posted by Pants:
I think I saw a thing on Discovery channel or something similar once about a German town that took away all traffic lights and signs out of their city center. Apparently people slow down and pay more attention and the accident rate actually drops.
A massive intersection full of chaos like the one above, though? Gotta be some wrecks, right?
My guess would be that their system has a lot more minor wrecks and our system has a lot fewer wrecks, but perhaps they're more serious on average. Our system is based on people following rules strictly, which means you don't have to pay attention as much. When something bad happens, it's probably because neither driver saw it coming. There, the system is based on hypervigilance and aggression, so I bet the wrecks involve both drivers paying attention and just being unable to avoid each other.
Just a theory. I'm not sure how your German example fits. I'm talking about U.S. versus third world.
Originally Posted by Rain Man:
My guess would be that their system has a lot more minor wrecks and our system has a lot fewer wrecks, but perhaps they're more serious on average. Our system is based on people following rules strictly, which means you don't have to pay attention as much. When something bad happens, it's probably because neither driver saw it coming. There, the system is based on hypervigilance and aggression, so I bet the wrecks involve both drivers paying attention and just being unable to avoid each other.
Just a theory. I'm not sure how your German example fits. I'm talking about U.S. versus third world.
