Press Coverage

June 26, 2003
Smart cars, smart roads can help out dumb drivers

LONDON (Reuters) — It's never pleasant receiving a traffic ticket but new research from scientists in Canada shows that they could reduce fatal car crashes. "You don't think the police are doing a public service when they issues tickets, but traffic enforcement has a huge public health benefit," said Robert Tibshirani of the Stanford University School of Medicine in California.

In research reported in The Lancet medical journal on Friday, he said the study suggests that one life is saved for every 80,000 tickets issued for traffic infringements. One emergency department visit is prevented for every 1,300 tickets.

He and his colleagues examined the records of drivers in Ontario, Canada and found that receiving a traffic ticket reduces a driver's risk of dying in an accident by 35 percent in the weeks after receiving the ticket was issued.

"Getting a ticket stays on your mind," said Tibshirani. "If you know you deserved the ticket it may remind you to slow down."

Although it is unlikely to win the approval of drivers, the researchers said more traffic tickets should be issued to reduce deaths.