http://io9.com/#!5751216/would-putting-a-spike-in-the-middle-of-your-steering-whee...
Driving is a subject of much study in the area of risk compensation. A huge number of people drive, or are driven, and although it can result in devastating consequences, it's done often enough that it feels routine, safe, and boring. Seatbelts are a good idea for drivers, but can be a bad idea for pedestrians and bikers. An experiment in which people drove go-karts showed that those who switched from an unencumbered ride to being strapped in safely responded by increasing their speed. Conversely, when Sweden switched the side of the road that people drove on - something that might lead to more accidents by confused or distracted motorists - the accident rate dropped. It only crept up again when drivers started to become accustomed to the change.One of the main pieces of ammunition for proponents of risk compensation is a survey of British drivers. Truck and cab drivers readily admitted that if their vehicles were loaded with explosives they would drive more slowly. Gordon Tullock, an economist, once joked that if the government wanted people to drive safely, they'd mandate a spike in the middle of each steering wheel. Of course such a thing would never happen — nor should it, morally — but ensuring the person most in control of a situation will be damaged by their mistakes can lead to much safer behavior than ensuring that they'll be protected, even if others won't be. Everyone's careful not to incite a revolution if they know they'll be the first up against the wall.
