It goes “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” How does that work in practice?
In: Other
Speed limits should indicate that going any faster is dangerous. And so you should always drive slower. Instead, people use them as a target for how fast they can drive, so typically there ends up being some slight leeway above the limit for how fast you can drive without being prosecuted. Which means that the “limit” is no longer a useful measure of how fast you can safely drive.
Somewhat similarly, an amber light technically means “stop unless it is unsafe to do so”, and a red means “stop”. But that measure of safety has become a target of “if I can get through this amber light before it turns red I’m ok”. And so people accelerate into a junction when they should be slowing down, with potential negative effects for cross traffic and pedestrians
Latest Answers