Maybe Sammy can’t drive 55, but I sure can. I know driving is one of the most dangerous activities I engage in daily. In the United States, we consistently have more than 30,000 deaths every year due to motor vehicle accidents.
30,000 people sound like an enormous number to lose every year due to a trip to the store, going to work, or a visit to grandma. Yet this represents a dramatic reduction in deaths despite a bigger population with more drivers over the last 40-50 years. Probably the reason that there has been such a tremendous amount of improvement is due to advancements in technology like seat belts, airbags, and other innovations. It seems highly unlikely to me that modern drivers are dramatically better than drivers in previous generations.
My question is; can behavior analysts save even more lives by teaching people to consistently drive safer? I know there are behavior analysts that work in traffic safety, and I don’t know much about their work. But I think the first question is: Does society even want us to improve traffic safety?
Initially, most people think “of course.” But what if it meant that cars couldn’t go over 15 miles per hour so your commute increases from one hour to four hours? What if driving was not nearly as much fun after eliminating distractions?
In most activities in life, you cannot eliminate risk. Our goal is usually to keep the benefits while reducing risk as much as possible. In the treatment of people with severe behavior problems, there is always some risk of danger due to the unpredictable situations that may occur. Families are willing to accept some level of risk for the chance of significant life improvements.
We often choose between safety and effectiveness. For example, when we drive, we can go slower for safety or faster to get to work on time. Fortunately for us, recent improvements in the treatment of severe behavior problems developed by Greg Hanley and colleagues have made that decision less difficult. The Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skills-Based Treatment (SBT) process allows us to have a much higher level of safety while still effectively improving outcomes for children.