Ten years ago, the city of Stockholm sought to reward drivers who comply with the law while punishing drivers who broke the speed limit.
To do this, the municipality has implemented some fairly unusual traffic regulations in one of its neighborhoods. Drivers (school districts) who followed the rules of the area participated in the lottery. The prize came from a fine paid by a speed-violating driver.
Some people believe that “automatic speed camera lottery” is the best way to encourage people to change their driving habits. But can social gamification actually promote a healthy lifestyle and make the healthcare system more sustainable?
“Fun theory”
Kevin Richardson participated in Volkswagen’s “Fun Theory” contest in 2010 with the idea of a speed camera lottery. The concept was so convincing that a year later, the city of Stockholm tested it for three days. When a car passes a particular intersection, a camera takes a picture of the car and measures its speed. A fine was imposed if the driver exceeded the speed limit. But that money was put into a unique fund-a lottery prize for obedient drivers. Drivers who respected the speed limit participated in the lottery and had the chance to win a smaller prize than drivers who did not follow the traffic rules.
A simple idea to introduce the concept of “candy and whip” into the world of traffic regulation and punish speeding and rewarding behavior that benefits the entire community through fun games. In fact, Sweden tested this concept in five more cities in May and June 2011.
In the first three-day trial, 24,857 cars passed in front of the camera, and the average speed of cars passing through the school zone dropped from 32 km / h before the trial to 25 km / h during the experiment.
However, keep in mind that Sweden is not currently running a program like the automatic speed camera lottery, as authorities and politicians at the time decided not to take this idea any further.
But just because the Swedish authorities have decided to abandon the concept does not mean that it cannot be revived …
