Paying Drivers to Not Speed

A number of Freakonomics readers have alerted us to yet another novel lottery idea. As Wired reports, Kevin Richardson won Volkswagen’s Fun Theory contest for his idea: “Kevin’s idea is both smart and simple. As well as ticketing you when you run through a speed-radar too fast, Kevin’s ‘Speed Camera Lottery‘ also notices you when you come in at or under the speed-limit. It then automatically enters you in a lottery. And here’s the really smart part: the prizes come from the fines paid by speeders.” The camera is currently in use in Stockholm, where the “average speed of cars passing the camera dropped from 32km/h before the experiment to 25km/h after.” [%comments]