Small warning about the peanut analogy. It actually turns out that Peanut Zero caused an *increase* in severe allergies, and it probably killed more kids than it saved. Only in 2017 did the reommendations change back.
I’m sympathetic to your aims here but your logic re: the comparison to peanuts is sadly very poor. The reason society was able to quickly organize around “peanut zero” is that removing peanuts from shared spaces is VERY LOW COST.
Removing cars, or smartphones for that matter, is VERY HIGH COST. This distinction overshadows your entire thoughtful piece.
A terrific piece on how traffic safety is all encompassing. Your health, your mood, and of course, our devices. But the numbers are staggering and despite technical safety innovation, its only gotten worse. In large part because a lot of automotive innovation is incredibly dangerous: high power, speed and poor visibility. Amsterdam was the leader in traffic story telling, perhaps the Grimm Fairy Tales version. Each child death was emphasized on the evening news until cars were labeled "Baby Killers". Ultimately this led to the proliferation of bicycles and bike safety infrastructure. The US has a very long way to go.
Amsterdam didn't mess around with the PSAs, and you're right, it played an important role. Fun fact, in the early 1900s, newspaper headlines and cartoons were just as direct.
Small warning about the peanut analogy. It actually turns out that Peanut Zero caused an *increase* in severe allergies, and it probably killed more kids than it saved. Only in 2017 did the reommendations change back.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/well/peanut-allergy-drop.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4E8.Tj47.-rsWv_BmXmpm&smid=nytcore-android-share
I’m sympathetic to your aims here but your logic re: the comparison to peanuts is sadly very poor. The reason society was able to quickly organize around “peanut zero” is that removing peanuts from shared spaces is VERY LOW COST.
Removing cars, or smartphones for that matter, is VERY HIGH COST. This distinction overshadows your entire thoughtful piece.
A terrific piece on how traffic safety is all encompassing. Your health, your mood, and of course, our devices. But the numbers are staggering and despite technical safety innovation, its only gotten worse. In large part because a lot of automotive innovation is incredibly dangerous: high power, speed and poor visibility. Amsterdam was the leader in traffic story telling, perhaps the Grimm Fairy Tales version. Each child death was emphasized on the evening news until cars were labeled "Baby Killers". Ultimately this led to the proliferation of bicycles and bike safety infrastructure. The US has a very long way to go.
Amsterdam didn't mess around with the PSAs, and you're right, it played an important role. Fun fact, in the early 1900s, newspaper headlines and cartoons were just as direct.