The Powerful Effect of Immediate Feedback
I live in Brisbane, Australia and over the last few years I’ve noticed an increasing number of unusual, digital signs appearing that ask drivers to slow for Sam…
But who is Sam? Why do they want me to slow down?
After a bit of digging it turns out that SAM isn’t actually a person, but an acronym that stands for Speed Awareness Monitor.
And it turns out that these SAMS are a playful and effective way to change behaviour.
The technology behind the digital signs are pretty neat. They’re equipped with a Doppler radar to measure oncoming vehicle speed and provide feedback on speed to drivers.
I love a tight feedback loop. Knowing immediately if what you’re doing is correct or incorrect is a great way to help me stay on track or change my behaviour.
With the SAM sign, the feedback is clear. If you’re driving at the speed limit or under, you’re rewarded with a green smiley face. However, If you’re going over the speed limit, you’re presented with red text telling you to slow down.
“Since installation in 2013, Council’s SAM signs have captured the data of more than 254 million vehicles, analysing trends in information such as passing speeds at various days and times. The data captured by SAM has demonstrated the success of the program, showing an average reduction of about 8.7 km/h by those initially alerted of exceeding the speed limit.”
Compare this immediate feedback to the speeding fine, a very slow form of feedback.
With a speeding fine, it can take weeks to be issued a notice. And by the time you get it in the mail, can you even remember where you were driving that day, let alone what you were doing? It’s a frustratingly slow feedback loop.
The question also arises, do speeding fines actually change behaviour? One longitudinal study of 3,739,951 drivers suggests speeding citations have limited effects on deterrence in the context of the current traffic enforcement system (fines are a lucrative form of income though!).
So how does this apply to our everyday life?
You can ask yourself, what are your feedback loops like?
Are they more like a SAM or a speeding fine? When you respond to email, provide feedback, mark assignments, or message people, do you respond quickly so your users, colleagues, family or friends can make decisions and easily work out what to do next? Or are you frustratingly slow to reply?
If you are slow like a speeding fine, then think about what you can you speed up (legally!) to become more like a SAM.
One more thing…
The other thing I love about the SAM system is they update the smiley face for different holidays during the year.
Here’s currently what’s displayed during December.
