Know who to vote for before leaving home

The coming election has many historic aspects to it and everyone should exercise the civic duty to vote for the country’s next president. But you’ll need to be careful because fatal car crashes tend to increase on presidential election days, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The research covered all U.S. presidential elections from 1976, when Jimmy Carter was elected president, to 2004, when George W. Bush won re-election. Using the national database from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the researchers analyzed the fatality numbers on every presidential election day during the period and compared these with crash fatalities on Tuesdays before and after these election days.

A total of 3,417 deaths occurred in all days included in the study, with 1,265 fatalities on election days. This produced an Election Day average of 158 fatalities, compared with 134 deaths on non-election Tuesdays. The fatalities included drivers, passengers and pedestrians killed in the car crashes.

This implies the likelihood of driving death increases by 18% on days when people go out to vote in presidential elections. This translates to about 24 deaths per election.

The data also indicated that another 800 people suffered disabling injuries due to the crashes.

Interestingly, this means traffic-related fatalities and injuries are higher on presidential election days than on Super Bowl day or New Year’s Day when there are also more people on the road.

The research is the work of doctors at the University of Toronto who are exposed to a lot of car crash victims. This exposure at Toronto’s largest trauma center plus their personal experiences of making adjustments to fit voting into a hectic schedule led them to ask about the effects of the rush to the voting booths on road safety.

They decided to study U.S. election days in particular because of the country’s comprehensive statistics on vehicle crashes, data which include the time of day, when, where, vehicle type, and other detailed information. Among other things, the times enabled them to isolate poll-related crashes occurring between 8:00 a.m. and 7:59 p.m.

The researchers speculate the reason could be any or a combination of factors such as more people on the road, speeding, distractions while driving, being unfamiliar with polling booth locations, or emotions running high. Another factor may be reduced police presence.

Remember though, the real culprit in traffic accidents is the driver, particularly those who try to get around speeding laws.

Safety Tips:

* Practice basic driving safety on Election Day. Wear your seatbelt, avoid speeding and alcohol.

* Decide who to vote for before you leave your home. This will help you minimize distractions on the road.