If I’m right: that the edifice of traffic control, based as it is on anti-social priority, is flawed and misguided; and that self-control on streets designed for equality are safer and more efficient than streets governed by priority and signals, what is the nature of the delusion that holds sway, and why does a vast state-sponsored industry uphold it? It’s akin to the power of religion in the Middle Ages. Is it a coincidence that the traffic rulebook is known in the trade as “the bible”?
Comments
Diana Meri
You should see the self control of some of the people I deal with … that kind of mindset, if left to its own devices, would contribute to carnage on our roads. The self regulation and decency one would hope will not happen, because in reality, if unchecked, the hawks will always trump the doves.
Martin
Oh ye of little faith in human nature. In banking and consumer affairs, regulation is needed, because self-interest is driven by profit. On the roads, regulation is redundant because self-interest = the common interest. My interest in not crashing into you mirrors your interest in not crashing into me. Given roads that expressed equality and a social context, you’d need only two rules. Drive on the left; give way to others who were there first, in other words, take it more or less in turns with all fellow road-users, on foot or on wheels.
Diana
I was run over by someone who self regulated his driving. Lucky to be alive.
Martin
Sorry to hear that. I’ve been hit by a car intent on beating a traffic light, in fact I’ve had three “accidents” at traffic lights. Most “accidents” are not accidents. They are events contrived by the anti-social rules of the road. Of course deregulation is not enough on its own. Also needed: driving test based on equality, culture change/re-education, legal reform, roadway redesign.
