Date:         Sat, 29 Jul 2006 09:28:02 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <felder@KNOLOGY.NET>
Subject:      Re: An Open Letter to all the DADs Out There NVC Friday Stuff
In-Reply-To:  <000801c6b2d0$d02a90b0$075c9904@gpa207joel>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed

On Jul 29, 2006, at 12:35 AM, joel walker wrote:

>> If there were no insurance for cars, there would be virtually no
>> wrecks or deaths. People would drive like their cars were
>> eggshells.  think about it.
>
> no way, Hose ... i've lived through the times when people had cars
> and did NOT have to insure them ... and didn't. and people drove
> just as dumb back then. only thing was, there weren't as many cars
> AND when they had a wreck, it almost always killed them. back then,
> bad drivers didn't live long. but they still drove just as stupid.
>
> i think it's a percentage thing ... of any given population, x
> percent are just stupid. and you can't fix stupid. now, increase
> the population by 100 percent. same x percent but now there are
> twice as many of them to notice!!
>

So, essentially, you're agreeing with me.  A certain percentage of
the population--small--would drive the same way no matter what. But
most of these idiot would be less likely to drive recklessly if they
knew they had to fork over $700 or more every time they mashed a
fender. An no one would EVER let a teenager or a known bad driver
borrow a car. Can you imagine putting a car at risk with a person who
couldn't even pay for a small repair? It would hardly ever happen.
Right now, people drive like morons because they perceive there is NO
RISK. Airbags, insurance, etc. etc. Take out the risk avoidance, and
you'll take out a lot of accidents. Maybe few deaths, since that
"certain percentage" wouldn't change, but you'd see a lot less
aggressive driving after a while. Human s**t can be controlled
through any type of incentive, but most people can and are. Right now
the incentive is to pay $75 a month or so to be able to drive like a
cretin.

I was in NYC traffic once, headed out of town up some small street
leading to the Holland Tunnel. It was saturday morning and everybody
was doing the same thing. Some ***hole in a shiny black BMW decided
he was going to take the space in front of my by cutting me off over
one of those two-block-long encounters in extremely slow traffic. My
wife kept watching his car on her side and saying "let him in, let
him in, he's going to hit us. I just kept the wheels straight,
knowing that eventually he would think more of his paint job than he
did of his arrogance and aggression against people in a 16 year old
vanagon. I was right, he gave up the bluff before the paint touched.
It's just another example of how a simple economic incentive is all
that stands in the way of acting like a complete bastard.

Kind of like the internet vs the real world. Lack of anonmyity
doesn't keep EVERYONE from becoming a belligerent bully, but it works
for most.


Jim