Is voting dangerous?
Freakonomics covers a some research from the Journal of the American Medical Association that argues voting may be dangerous for your health. The New York Post
remarks;
The study found that on average, 24 more people died in car crashes during voting hours on presidential election days than on other October and November Tuesdays. That amounts to an 18 percent increased risk of death. And compared with non-election days, an additional 800 people suffered disabling injuries.
The results were pretty consistent on all eight presidential Election Days that were analyzed, up to George W. Bush’s victory over John Kerry in 2004.
So, it’s not actually voting that’s dangerous, it’s driving to the polling booth in order to vote that could get you killed. So the answer is simple: Go green. Leave the car at home on November 8 and catch the bus, walk or bike to your nearest polling booth.
October 7th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
One great thing about a falling economy is funds for meaningless stupid studies will dry up.
October 7th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
>>Leave the car at home on November 8 and catch the bus, walk or bike to your nearest polling booth.
I suggest phoning up Labour and getting them to drive you there
Meanwhile, in the the Dim Post:
“Founded in: 1990 (To be referred to by future New Zealand historians as ‘Year Zero’).
Position on Political Spectrum: Left of Gaia.
Stands For: Social justice; poverty reduction, achieving a progressive economy, restorative justice, making New Zealand a truly equal and egalitarian society. The party remains deeply divided over whether it should also promote environmental policies.”
October 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
The problem is that everyone else will be in cars. So it may be more dangerous to bike than to take the car. This only works if you can persuade everyone to bike, and that won’t work for much of the country where people live too far away from the polling booths for anyone but the hyper-sporty to take you seriously.
October 7th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Another good reason for me to be away tramping on election day, just like last time.
October 7th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Great post, you know how to stretch a long bow.
> So the answer is simple: Go green. Leave the car at home on November 8 and catch the bus, walk or bike to your nearest polling booth.
I worry that this burns precious calories. For the majority of people who eat meat this means that animals will die, crops will be replaced by more animals, and the planet will probably not survive the onslaught of two November elections.
It is becoming clear that we need to look at the root cause here: Elections. The EFA doesn’t go far enough. It should be obvious to all that dictatorships are more environmentally friendly.
October 8th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Shunda, Dr. Donald Redelmeier is a professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and an internist at the largest trauma center in Toronto. He sees lots of victims from car crashes, so he thinks a lot about cars and driving. That, coupled with his own experience hurrying to fit voting into a busy schedule, made him want to examine how the rush to get to the polls affects road safety on voting day. Nobody paid him to do the study, they didn’t need to because the FARS database is available on-line. FARS allows data to be extracted for multiple variables such as time of day, when, where, vehicle type, etc. Thus Redelmeier could easily compare the number of crashes, injuries and deaths on Election Day Tuesday to the Tuesdays before and after using a home computer.
The studies conclusion is that “Chance of dying exceeds chance of casting a pivotal vote! A good reason to introduce postal ballots.”