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Behavioral Economics and Travel

Mark Solof surveys the nascent intersection of these fields at InTransition magazine.

Much of drivers’ overconfidence stems from an “illusion of control” Ariely said. “When we control something, we feel the risk is lower, even when it is not, and this is especially strong in driving.”

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 9th, 2010 at 8:47 am and is filed under Traffic safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Behavioral Economics and Travel”

  1. Jack Says:
    August 10th, 2010 at 9:01 am

    It’s not just on the road that the “illusions of control” causes unintended consequences. Our increasingly complex society depends on the “rational man” remaining in control. Alan Greenspan: “I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms… that’s precisely the reason I was shocked, because I have been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well.”

  2. BobL Says:
    August 22nd, 2010 at 10:40 pm

    I agree. I’ve always explained to my sons that it’s not just disregarding the traffic laws that causes accidents, but the laws of biology and physics. You may feel “in control” driving at 75mph 20 feet behind another vehicle, but your reaction time is not fast enough if the other vehicle were to have an unanticipated emergency: blown tire, heart attack, etc.

    Perhaps we should require a physics exam for new drivers…

  3. fred_dot_u Says:
    August 23rd, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    Well said, BobL. Expand it to all drivers, all ages, and it also addresses the “elderly driver” dangers that are supposed to exist. The smartest thing I ever learned about driving was leave plenty of room. One step from that is operating at or slightly below the speed limit. It works.

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Traffic Tom Vanderbilt

How We Drive is the companion blog to Tom Vanderbilt’s New York Times bestselling book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), published by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and Canada, Penguin in the U.K, and in languages other than English by a number of other fine publishers worldwide.

Please send tips, news, research papers, links, photos (bad road signs, outrageous bumper stickers, spectacularly awful acts of driving or parking or anything traffic-related), or ideas for my Slate.com Transport column to me at: info@howwedrive.com.

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