you’d think the opposite would be true…why does this happen?
The comment says it: People look at the road. Here in Germany I know that many people hit the brakes after they have been photographed. Of course thats stupid at that point but many people do not let enough space between cars so there is the possibility of a crash. Without speed traps that can not occur.
Simple: people pay more attention to what they do. In areas were ways to “slow down” motorists (speed bumps, cameras, roundabouts etc) are rife people just don’t give a s*** when they are at the wheel. It’s one of the unintended consequences of Nanny State programs: people tend to become careless.
I have nothing to offer to further my statement but years and years on the road all over Europe. When roundabouts and speed cameras start to pop up in an area you can be sure traffic will become a nightmare. I liken this to what happens when a country has too many laws: Professor A. Cleveland covered this in his splendid and highly recommended Unmasking the Sacred Lies.
I agree. People look at the road instead of around for cameras. There are cameras all around our college city and it doesn’t do anything. For one, it distracts drivers when they’re trying to look for the camers. Then it distracts them when a huge flash goes off and you have to look around, startled. And finally no one pays the tickets because they aren’t legal. As long as you don’t open up your door for any police officers for a month, you don’t have to pay anything… except all of the costs to run the cameras.
Joseph Schumpeter once said that the introduction of seatbelts made people drive faster.