The Fred Flintstone problem part 2: What drivers with caveman brains can do to thwart North Carolina car accidents
In a recent post on the relevance of evolution to theory about North Carolina car accidents (what can and cannot be done to solve our country and state’s motor vehicle accident problem), we touched on the idea that the root cause of vehicle crashes may be completely insoluble.
Basically, our brains evolved in Paleolithic times to deal with Paleolithic conditions. One might speculate about how our Paleolithic ancestors lived. But chances are they did not spend a significant percentage of their day riding across concrete landscapes at speeds approaching and exceeding 70 miles per hour. Even the occasional Grok who managed to hitch a ride on the back of a cheetah probably did not last long enough to take such a joyride more than once or twice.
So we face a dilemma, as people who want to end the problem of North Carolina car accidents. How can we engineer cars, roads, driver behavior, etc., to minimize risks, given that we have this fundamental constraint?
Obviously, this blog cannot hope to solve the problem in one fell swoop. But if you need help with a specific car accident question (for instance, if a drunk and driver hit you, or if a truck drove you off the road into a ditch and now you are injured and sick), a North Carolina car accident law firm can help you to deal with your specific legal, logistical, and other concerns.
Beyond that, maybe we can start a dialogue about more constructive ways to think about road safety. Because once we accept this fundamental “caveman constraint” on road safety engineering, we can contextualize engineering features that have already worked or might work. For instance, let’s think about reaction time. Paleolithic people in no way and shape or form had to confront super-fast decision making – like swerving at the last minute to avoid a truck travelling 80 miles per hour.
But we did evolve sensitive mechanisms to help us during normal flight and fight responses. For instance, when our Grok ancestors engaged in battle with saber-toothed tigers, they needed to respond rapidly to stressful conditions during the hunt, so we have evolved sensitive mechanisms that can help us react at the last second. The question is: How do we tap into those natural, spring-like mechanisms to react to a predator and apply them to engineer safer cars, better roads, smarter drivers, better signage, etc.?
We’ll leave the specifics to engineers. But just thinking in terms of this paradigm – the caveman driver paradigm – should allow us some new and cool insights that could lead to better engineering solutions.
More Web Resources:
Who is Grok?
What Did Grok Eat?
