The Swedish Speed Camera Lottery And Healthy Living

Stockholm experimented with rewarding compliance while punishing free-riders: if you drove at or under the speed limit, you were entered into a lottery where the prize fund came from fines that speeders paid. The so-called speed camera lottery is the perfect solution for facilitating behavior change on the roads. But could social gamification improve healthy living and make healthcare systems more sustainable? The Fun Theory Put In Practice Kevin Richardson entered into Volkswagen’s The Fun Theory competition in 2010 with his idea about the speed camera lottery. The concept was so powerful, that a year later, Stockholm put it to the test temporarily. When your car passed by a specific crossing, a camera snapped a photo of it and measured its speed. If the driver was above the speed limit, a fine was imposed. However, the money was used to enrich a unique fund – the lottery prize for obedient drivers. If you were not a speeder, you could participate in the lottery, and you had the chance to win some money from those who didn’t follow traffic rules. It’s simple and brilliant. Sticks and carrots on an entirely new level. It punishes free-riders and rewards behavior benefiting the entire community through a fun game. No wonder that Sweden was eager to put the idea to the test. In the trial case, 24,857 cars passed the cameras, and the average speed limit was reduced from 32 km/h to 25 km/h. How would you imagine the concept in healthcare? Politico’s eHealth site cho...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Health Insurance Health Sensors & Trackers Healthcare Design digital digital health healthcare system healthy lifestyle Innovation Personalized medicine wearables Source Type: blogs