Last week there was a report of an interesting experiment to deter speeders.

Drivers in the experiment agreed to have a GPS device installed in their cars, and were promised a $25 reward at the end of the week for staying at or below speed limits. Exceeding the speed limit by up to eight miles per hour cost three cents for each occurrence; breaking it by nine mph cost drivers six cents per occurrence.

Other subjects in the study were given GPS monitoring, with no penalty and no financial reward. The end result, to no one’s surprise, was this: the group that got paid was the most diligent about obeying the speed limit, and one driver even admitted it was like a game to see how much of the promised $25 he could keep.

"We found that the incentive system was incredibly effective in getting drivers to reduce their speeding," says Ian Reagan, a traffic safety researcher at NHTSA. "Egregious speed limit violations were almost eliminated — that's driving nine or more [miles per hour] over the speed limit."

Don’t expect to see sweeping changes in traffic laws (or insurance company policies) just yet, as this particular study involved just 50 participants, a sample size almost too small to be relevant. Besides, the loss of revenue generated from ticketing would have a negative impact on police departments everywhere, making change further unlikely.