Voting: Patriotic Health Hazard?

A new study of traffic accidents has revealed an 18% increased risk of dying in a traffic-related accident on Election Day Tuesdays than on other Tuesdays during the months of October and November. The research team studied traffic accidents dating back to 1976, when Jimmy Carter was elected president.

The study found that an average of 24 people are killed in car crashes during voting hours on presidential Election Days, in addition to the average number of people who would otherwise be killed in traffic accidents on a typical October or November Tuesday. In addition, 800 people become disabled by traffic-related accidents on this particular Tuesday.

The study was conducted by Dr. Donald Redelmeier and Robert Tibshirani. Tibshirani is now affiliated with Stanford University and Redelmeier is a University of Toronto medical professor. Voter turnout in Canada is traditionally higher than in the United States in spite of the fact that there are fewer Canadians than Americans. Today’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) carries the details of their study.

The researchers were studying the effects of traffic accidents on public health when the increase in traffic accidents on presidential Election Days became apparent. They attribute one million deaths each year, on a global basis, to traffic accidents, 41,059 of which occurred in the US last year. Among industrialized countries, the US has one of the highest rates of death due to traffic accidents.

A spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says previous research has proven a higher rate of traffic deaths when more people are on the road. Events such as Super Bowl Sunday, winter holidays, summertime, and other festivities that place more people on the road also increase the risk of death in a traffic accident, especially when festivities are fueled by alcohol consumption.

The Redelmeier/Tibshirani study identified 3,417 traffic-related deaths in the US that occurred on presidential Election Days over the past 30 years plus the two Tuesdays before and after Election Day for those years. The 1,265 deaths that occurred on election days indicate an average of 158 Election Day deaths, while the other Tuesdays compared averaged only 134. These Tuesday deaths involved drivers and passengers as well as pedestrians.

Although the research data does not specify where people were traveling when these Election Day deaths and injuries occurred, more of them occurred during voting hours, leading the researchers to identify them as being related to the voting process. In addition to the opportunity to vote, some schools are traditionally closed on Election Days and many stores offer Election Day sales, all incidents known to increase traffic.

The research team does not suggest Americans refrain from voting but instead it urges caution while getting to and from the polls. Don’t speed to get there, do wear seat belts in transit, and do avoid drinking alcoholic beverages on the way to or from casting a vote to ensure the highest level of safety while exercising your patriotic right to vote for the nation’s leaders instead.

Source: FoxNews

Filed under: Prevention