Volvo Promises an Injury-Proof Car by 2020. Yikes! In this driver's personal opinion, most Volvo drivers are already menaces on the road. I hate to imagine what they'll be like when they can drive without risking personal injury!

Personally, I'd reduce accidents (and injuries and deaths) this way:

Related issues:

[1] This idea that increasing safety will cause us to behave more recklessly is generally attributed to Sam Peltzman. Here's a study on safety/accidents/deaths in NASCAR.

[2] Here's a short story about how people would drive if they could do so without risking injury, which was the inspiration for my favorite Rush song Red Barchetta.

[3] Most people I know attribute the steering wheel idea to Gordon Tullock though I've heard also that it came from Armen Alchian. The idea of increasing overall safety by making things more risky is getting some traction. I was just reading a book by a mountaineer in which the author (Joe Simpson of Thouching the Void fame) mentioned the steering wheel concept.

[4] For an application of this idea to mountaineering, see this paper by Clark and Lee.

HT: Dave Reed