HUH

Highway warnings about traffic deaths may increase crashes, study finds

(Thanks to Rod Nunley)

 

Comments

[Steverino]

Makes sense. Looking at the signs distracts you from watching the road.

[pharmaross]

Signs

[Le Petomane]

In Texas, speed limit signs are viewed as a suggestion. In this case a big overhead sign flashing while you're speeding to get somewhere while texting, of course will increase accidents. If they took those signs down, then Texans could have normal crashes without that distraction.

[Rod]

Le Pet, speed limits signs are a waste of taxpayers' money. And nobody reads the messages signs because they're too busy texting or trying to run over the guy who just cut them off.

And that bit about the crash rate going up when they display the death stats? That's just us running up the score.

[cfjk]

Or, they may not, but why do they say "Traffic deaths may increase crashes"?

[Le Petomane]

Rod, In Texas they love their scoreboards. Some folks could look at those numbers as something to beat. Yet I remember the 15 years we lived in West Texas as the best of times.

[wanderer2575]

That's news to Michigan, which regularly displays year-to-date death counts on the freeway message boards.