Why drivers licenses should have negative points

January 20, 2013 by 491 Comments

I just got to New York City, and there are signs over each street here warning drivers about blocking the Crosswalk and what will happen if they do.

block the box 300x225 Why drivers licenses should have negative points

At least it’s not in Helvetica.

What’s wrong with these signs? The plus sign in front of the penalty points is a huge problem.

Since humans are driven to win and get rewards, having drivers gain two points on their license won’t be nearly as effective as having them lose 2 points.

By changing the license system so it’s subtractive rather than additive, lawmakers will give the principle of loss aversion a chance to kick in. Most people, not wanting to break their perfect score (5 or 10 points, not sure what it is here) will thus be less likely to commit traffic violations.

Did you see anything crazy on the street today?

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Filed Under: Marketing, NYC, Psychology