This link has been bookmarked by 7 people . It was first bookmarked on 18 Jun 2008, by jagannath rao adukuri.
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03 Aug 08
Mohit Justpeople who bought cars with air bags tended to be the safest drivers to begin with. And now, lulled into a sense of security, they tended to drive faster, effectively canceling out the safety benefits.
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22 Jun 08
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It is not known whether any drivers turned around for a look after they passed the bicyclist. If they did, they would have been puzzled: "It was slightly embarrassing, because I had a beard at the time," Walker said. "I spent a couple of days going up and down the road wig on, and a couple of days going up and down the road, wig off."
Walker was trying to figure out whether his interventions changed the way drivers passed his bike. He came to two conclusions: Cars gave him more leeway when drivers thought he was a woman with curly black hair. And they gave him less leeway -- getting dangerously close -- when he wore a helmet.
Walker thinks drivers are influenced by unconscious stereotypes -- they may believe that female bicyclists are less steady, and that helmeted bikers are pros.
Again, it would be an error to draw the simplistic conclusion that bike helmets are a bad idea. Wearing a helmet does seem to change how you and other people on the road perceive risk -- but doing away with helmet laws could have unintended consequences, too.
"One big problem when you talk about risk is the extent to which people have an accurate idea of it -- I don't believe people have an accurate idea of the risks they are looking at," Walker said. "If they have just seen something happen to another person, people believe it is more likely to happen to them."
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21 Jun 08
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19 Jun 08
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." "The research consistently finds that, in fact, government efforts to correct market failures have little effect, or actually make things worse."
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"There is a tendency for people to say, 'If things are safer, then I will take more risk,' " he added. "It does not have to involve government interventions: Drugs are developed to reduce blood pressure, so people say, 'Okay, I can eat more, and it does not matter if I gain weight, because I can take this pill.
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he wrong lesson to draw from this is that air bags are useless. The right lesson is that air bags can improve safety when they are targeted at the riskiest drivers. As the safety devices become standard issue, for example, risky drivers are automatically protected. And as the safest drivers stop feeling they are extra safe, they may take their foot off the gas.
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One big problem when you talk about risk is the extent to which people have an accurate idea of it -- I don't believe people have an accurate idea of the risks they are looking at," Walker said. "If they have just seen something happen to another person, people believe it is more likely to happen to them."
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