The Law of Unintended Consequences Strikes Again!

With overwhelming support, laws against texting while driving have been put into effect with the goal of reducing distracted driving accidents. The result – distracted driving accidents caused by texting while driving have increased!!

http://www.dailytech.com/Study+Claim...ticle19748.htm

It seems that people who previously had held their cell phones off to the side are now concealing them under the dash to avoid being detected. This is another example of things done with the best of purposes (War on poverty, War on drugs, AFDC, etc) have either worsened the problems they were intended to deal with or created entirely new, unanticipated ones.

If there is a lesson here, it is humility. Let’s not undertake sweeping changes without careful thought and analysis. As Robert Burns said, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice and menGang aft agley.” In more recent terms we call it Murphy’s law – “If something can go wrong, it will.”