Post AVW1x38WE7cfFOjdC4 by grammargirl@zirk.us
(DIR) More posts by grammargirl@zirk.us
(DIR) Post #AVW1x38WE7cfFOjdC4 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-05-10T15:10:26Z
1 likes, 2 repeats
I love clever uses of incentives and tech: Cities are using traffic lights near schools that start red and turn green if an approaching car isn't speeding. If you're good, you get to keep driving. If you're bad, you have to stop and wait for the light to turn green.The average speed on the road almost immediately dropped to the speed limit as people learned the rules.Instead of punishing people with tickets after the fact, it creates the behavior the city wants.https://mass.streetsblog.org/2023/05/05/steal-this-idea-in-quebec-a-new-traffic-light-only-turns-green-for-safe-drivers/
(DIR) Post #AVW3D055SDYsMJIdKi by flargh@mastodon.social
2023-05-10T15:24:32Z
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@grammargirl Richard Thaler won a Nobel prize for his work on nudge theory, which espouses this idea: To create incentives for people to engage in the behavior you want. One great example that proves the model: making retirement contributions opt-out rather than opt-in.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudge_theory
(DIR) Post #AVW3QXQMnQ6PXGhyU4 by mlhalsey@cityofchicago.live
2023-05-10T15:26:57Z
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@grammargirl this assumes that the city wants traffic to move within a specific speed range. In some cases, cities want ticket revenue, or increased legal coverage to make traffic stops.
(DIR) Post #AVW3WkprqWGErqbHBQ by UrsaAshBear@mas.to
2023-05-10T15:28:07Z
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@grammargirl Dog Trainers have been using this concept for thousands of years: Positive reinforcement teaches positive behavior broadly. Negative punishment only removes the behavior under observation. It works just as well on humans with Audi Quattros
(DIR) Post #AVW53bVJf3D1R9DP8a by shaninthewoods@oceanplayground.social
2023-05-10T15:45:13Z
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@grammargirl What a great idea!
(DIR) Post #AVW5dAfUugWedFwAdc by ttpphd@mastodon.social
2023-05-10T15:51:40Z
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@grammargirlThat's extremely hot, tbh. 🔥
(DIR) Post #AVW5jVsWy1Ss9U3d0y by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-05-10T15:52:49Z
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@flargh I remember that! His work may have been my first introduction to theories about incentives.
(DIR) Post #AVW7aWWRP7uVRzZB7A by noxypaws@packmates.org
2023-05-10T16:13:35Z
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@grammargirl I am a chronic speeder and I support the hell out of trying this sort of thing out!
(DIR) Post #AVW7dnUKmVqOwF8rVw by TCMuffin@toot.wales
2023-05-10T16:14:08Z
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@grammargirl Brilliant!!!We've been using a similar principle to train our dogs for decades 👍
(DIR) Post #AVW7m1FPVawJve593g by JohnLoader6@masto.ai
2023-05-10T16:15:37Z
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@grammargirl Many years ago pre motorway the main A4 road from London to Bristol passed through SLough Industrial Estate. There were many sets of traffic lights for access from the estate but they were linked so that if you drove at 30 mph you would always get a green light at the next set. Took my driving test there in the 60s. So what’s new?
(DIR) Post #AVW9yKOqKKvAiAUVYO by Susan_Larson_TN@mastodon.online
2023-05-10T16:40:20Z
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@grammargirl Except the purpose of traffic lights are to ensure the right of way, not to control speed. The city I live in has every light timed so that at busy times of the day you will be stopped at every single stoplight. Why as a speed control measure. One day I got stopped at 16 consecutive lights, because I drive the speed limit.
(DIR) Post #AVWBckWshGPTHx5agS by StrangeNoises@mastodon.social
2023-05-10T16:58:48Z
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@grammargirl ... unless what the city wants is money from collecting fines
(DIR) Post #AVWC10Hzkm9X7JgwHw by ScottSoCal@computerfairi.es
2023-05-10T17:02:54Z
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@grammargirl Too many cities in the US would see this as a revenue loss, from tickets that aren't written.
(DIR) Post #AVWDS9BisMBMUOGTLs by Lassielmr@mastodon.scot
2023-05-10T17:19:17Z
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@grammargirl been used in Europe for years
(DIR) Post #AVWEgsKNwadaUnu3n6 by peterbrown@mastodon.scot
2023-05-10T17:33:09Z
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@grammargirl This technique has been used for many years on the approach to Spanish villages.The traffic light only turns to green once you have slowed down sufficiently
(DIR) Post #AVWIUKWADrw3yfgarQ by baralheia@dragonchat.org
2023-05-10T18:15:42Z
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@grammargirl It's not a bad idea. The general concept has been around for a while - here in Oklahoma, I know of two smaller towns (McAlester and Lawton) that timed the stoplights on the main drag through downtown so that if you drove just under the speed limit, you'd hit each light on green. Using tech to enable the same concept for a single light is a pretty cool way to calm traffic.
(DIR) Post #AVWIsUfA9fDeONPvrU by Burnt_Veggies@mstdn.social
2023-05-10T18:20:06Z
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@grammargirl Brilliant! That's much better than my idea of a solid concrete wall that would spring out of the road in front of cars that speed. I mean their car would likely get damaged and they might get injured, but I bet they wouldn't speed again. Nor would anyone who witnessed it.
(DIR) Post #AVWItVV4Wla5HKBGNc by n0body@hachyderm.io
2023-05-10T18:20:18Z
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@grammargirl This is so brilliant! Thanks for sharing. This reminds me of a story, back in the 80s there was a traffic light in my (right wing, authoritarian) town that stayed green all night, but if you tried to drive through it, it turned red just as you approached, and stayed red until a car came from the other direction, whereupon it would stop that car. I just figured this was how society worked back then 😂
(DIR) Post #AVWJfjO2CWYcFLsrWi by jake4480@c.im
2023-05-10T18:29:00Z
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@grammargirl wow this is genius. 🤯 Bring it everywhere! 🤣
(DIR) Post #AVWOMaaHCiF7DNIliS by rbs1@mastodon.social
2023-05-10T19:21:32Z
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@grammargirl, thank you for passing on this brilliant idea.😍
(DIR) Post #AVWPq8EDILArucdILw by mral@mastodon.sdf.org
2023-05-10T19:38:06Z
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@grammargirl I think this is a great idea. it does go against the GOP model of profiting from breaking the law so it may not catch on in the USA:-( In the USA they have private corps setting up speed trap cameras to profit from the speeders.
(DIR) Post #AVWPrfdgYkzrp8HTkG by Susan_Larson_TN@mastodon.online
2023-05-10T16:44:28Z
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@grammargirl The city I live in has every light timed so that at busy times of the day you will be stopped at every single stoplight. As your light turns green, the next one in front of you is turning red. Why as a speed control measure. One day I got stopped at 16 consecutive lights, because I drive the speed limit. They do this to encourage speeding, and red-light running which they profit off of from cameras..
(DIR) Post #AVWRKSf3zPkhvTDYtU by pairko@mastodon.cloud
2023-05-10T19:54:47Z
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@grammargirl In Chico, CA early '90s, lights on the main road were synchronized to just below the speed limit. Drive right, you never catch more than one light. Speed, and you stop at every single light, every couple of blocks. Not as lucrative as writing tickets, but much more effective. Safe and civilized.
(DIR) Post #AVWY2d8yyamWu5emkC by singletona@bitbang.social
2023-05-10T21:10:00Z
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@grammargirl Traffic Calming. As someone who doens't, will never, and physically cannot drive?I love thigns that make it safer for the people who arne't in the two ton rolling death boxes moving anywhere from thirty to eighty at a given time.
(DIR) Post #AVWf0cmO3lI8sD4w4m by thepdog@mas.to
2023-05-10T22:28:04Z
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@grammargirl Great way to make the roadways safer.
(DIR) Post #AVWjl3gujaiPTZupTU by TaraSkywalker@tech.lgbt
2023-05-10T23:21:17Z
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@grammargirl this is genius!
(DIR) Post #AVWwEgaeO2fVy0sbQG by bc@tech.lgbt
2023-05-11T01:41:07Z
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@grammargirl couldn’t they just visually narrow the street and add speed humps too?
(DIR) Post #AVX9joWIFkRYwS0zR2 by tmoore@mastodon.world
2023-05-11T04:12:24Z
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@grammargirl it suggests that people are less willing to drive through a red light than to exceed the speed limit, even though both are illegal and more or less equally enforceable. It would be interesting to study that phenomenon.
(DIR) Post #AVXJPWXIPE8guqRo9Y by korin@roark.voluminum.net
2023-05-11T06:00:48Z
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@grammargirl this is a pretty clever idea. i wonder if lights timed to a green wave would also have a similar traffic calming effect, given they're all timed to the speed limit
(DIR) Post #AVXLCmOcKLrsFTRHJA by DopeGhoti@infosec.exchange
2023-05-11T06:20:53Z
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@grammargirl This is awesome, and should be implemented more widely, but sadly won't be as too many municipalities use traffic citations as a revenue stream.
(DIR) Post #AVXm8fWWdOgsXQP07M by HelenGraham@mastodon.world
2023-05-11T11:22:42Z
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@grammargirl Thats much better than the smily face ,angry face signs.Though personally I think schools ought to have speed bumps on all the streets approaching them thats about the only thing that really works at slowing people down
(DIR) Post #AVY8QFiHX8Zyh0gtkm by maddad@mastodon.world
2023-05-11T15:32:18Z
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@grammargirl That is a really cool idea. 👍
(DIR) Post #AVYL7yIOqq9grhCLSq by simon_brooke@mastodon.scot
2023-05-11T17:54:40Z
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@grammargirl there's a village on the main A75 road to Ireland near here that has a system like that. If you drive through at or below the speed limit, the lights are green for you. If you break the speed limit, you get stopped both when entering the village and when leaving it. Very effective!
(DIR) Post #AVYdkHCCpO3lf5iRIe by meredithw@wandering.shop
2023-05-11T21:23:19Z
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@grammargirl @universalhub
(DIR) Post #AVZBQlzc0rtZpIhGTI by peterrelph2@kolektiva.social
2023-05-12T03:40:47Z
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@grammargirl Could also possibly be seen as blanket punishment, punishing everyone for the sins of an individual.
(DIR) Post #AVZPirX7YEIra3tFMu by itslifejimbutnotasweknowit@mastodon.au
2023-05-12T06:20:56Z
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@grammargirl that's an excellent idea!!
(DIR) Post #AVaIJI0nyZjreXaqtk by mattb@hachyderm.io
2023-05-12T16:32:34Z
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@grammargirl I do this on my bicycle on single track roads! I ride in the middle until the oncoming vehicle slows to a speed I'm happy to pass them at, then I move to the edge. I've only ever had to come to a complete stop once.
(DIR) Post #AVbCCltk3a8nkUl4vw by tomleb@hachyderm.io
2023-05-13T02:58:52Z
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@grammargirl Wow that's like 10 minutes feom where I live and I hadn't even noticed it. Sounds like a really good idea!
(DIR) Post #AVcHhp298uBDNbH6Po by saifi@hachyderm.io
2023-05-13T15:35:14Z
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@grammargirl how about a no-car zone around the school precints ?
(DIR) Post #AVqJkCKmHQViaq8Mm8 by koen_hufkens@mastodon.social
2023-05-20T10:04:03Z
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@grammargirl This only underscores that most fines are a pay to play scheme. Where the rich get to have their way, circumventing the law by being flush with cash (and not caring). These nudges avoid this obvious loophole.
(DIR) Post #AVqNY2IYAQrhoDY3LU by tfb@functional.cafe
2023-05-20T10:46:39Z
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@grammargirl I'm happy if it works for them, but most if those traffic lights I see here (Paris region) just don't work. It takes a single idiot going to fast to trigger them, and that happens most of the time IME. Only in very low throughput hours can you actually drive 25-30 km/h without stopping for the light.
(DIR) Post #AXXXmVYcLmq5dYGisy by hakei@foxi.sh
2023-07-10T04:25:59Z
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@grammargirl @duncandahusky That’s a really cool idea (and neat application of modern tech that makes it possible), but a far simpler version was simply the timed sequence of lights along a long stretch of road… for as long as I’ve known, at least one road would “reward” you for going the speed limit by not hitting red lights — or if you did, the light would turn green and maintaining the speed would mean you hit your green lights. … People in the US still speed on that road, at least 10 over.
(DIR) Post #AdUQiepvMN5PEX2fUO by StarkRG@myside-yourside.net
2024-01-04T03:35:19Z
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@grammargirl When I was growing up the city of San Rafael, California had two one-way streets where the traffic lights were timed so traffic moving at the speed limit always hit green lights. I'm sure it's still that way, but I haven't been there in over a decade. This is good for individual traffic lights, but for long stretches with multiple lights the timed sequence is probably better.
(DIR) Post #AdUjA5wAVSSeHKCB8a by nicemicro@fosstodon.org
2024-01-04T03:33:32Z
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@Susan_Larson_TN @grammargirl I would argue, that every infrastructure in the road is there to make traffic safer. Access control in a junction and speed control are both measures to improve the safety of the road for everyone.
(DIR) Post #AdUjA6zkZcv7YisYMK by niclas@angrytoday.com
2024-01-04T07:02:04Z
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@nicemicro The profit motives are not to be underestimated, all those highway pirates....uhhh cops....need to get paid and the fines are a substantial portion of that.https://eu.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2023/12/26/police-speeding-traffic-tickets-revenue-civil-rights/71970613007/10% of total loot...uhh I mean taxes... in many places. $16 billion in 2019 in the USA.https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/105331/following-the-money-on-fines-and-fees_final-pdf.pdf@Susan_Larson_TN @grammargirl
(DIR) Post #AdUvaDnx4oulerZpPk by paulhutchinson@mastodon.online
2024-01-04T09:21:11Z
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@grammargirl It says something about driver behaviour with this phrase ..."The AVERAGE speed on the road almost immediately DROPPED to the SPEED LIMIT as people learned the rules."
(DIR) Post #AdUwOFUN5aPFMQGzYm by nicemicro@fosstodon.org
2024-01-04T09:30:17Z
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@niclas @Susan_Larson_TN @grammargirl yeah, this is the problem of the "fine" system: it gives the wrong incentives to those collecting the fines.
(DIR) Post #AdV1HHjup2LC5K2hDU by KatS@chaosfem.tw
2024-01-04T10:24:56Z
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@grammargirl That same technique is being used in rural Portugal, to discourage people from speeding through villages.I can report from experience that it's surprisingly effective.
(DIR) Post #AdVyjZA9X091Wf4JAO by scouten@ericscouten.social
2024-01-04T21:27:34Z
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@grammargirl @jlundell I encountered similar in Portugal. Traffic light on the edge of town turns red if any car in the stream is speeding and holds for a few seconds. Creates peer pressure to not speed.
(DIR) Post #AdWijcouWrFwlD6Bw8 by peterdeppisch@mstdn.ca
2024-01-05T06:06:32Z
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@grammargirl Super idea. Thanks for sharing.
(DIR) Post #AdWqvhdPFoOengzIwK by damien@layer8.space
2024-01-05T07:38:25Z
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@grammargirl this gels with one of my pet hates - the traffic lights that are just turning to red as you approach, having driven the speed limit from the previous set of (just turned) green lights. I.e. traffic planners have deliberately sequenced the lights along a stretch of road to punish you for sticking to the speed limit / reward you for exceeding it!Adopting the opposite approach makes a lot of sense!
(DIR) Post #Adaoe512A85WpLLe2S by vinoth@infosec.exchange
2024-01-07T05:31:43Z
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@grammargirl I hope they aren't training people to skip the red lights, as there isn't any cross traffic that this is trying to manage.