A few posts ago, I mentioned how companies running surveys are wont to state the blindingly obvious as revelations from Heaven.
The Americans appear to be no different in this respect. The Mercury of Pottstown, PA, has chosen to inform us (that link seemed to stop working while I was writing this – I assume it is temporary) that most crashes involving teen drivers are caused by driver error! To be fair, it is not The Mercury, but The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Companies who are the bringers of this hitherto unknown fact.
Over here, we call ad hoc surveys of a relatively small number of participants “research”. In the States they call it “a study”.
The “study” reveals that common “critical errors” include:
- going too fast
- not looking and planning ahead
- being distracted by something
They also concluded that the weather, vehicle faults, aggression, and falling asleep were not primary factors. I think they may have missed the point that although the majority of the 800 accidents they looked at may not have been due to those things, some of them definitely will have – especially drowsiness, aggression, and driving faulty vehicles. There are plenty of viral videos (and clips on the cop shows on TV) to confirm this.
This study helps dispel the myth that most teen crashes are due to aggressive driving or thrill-seeking,” said Allison Curry, lead author and a researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention. “Promoting safe driving skills is as important as preventing problem behaviors.”
Has she never heard of cause and effect? Or considered that some things might be related?
People often go too fast because they are driving aggressively. People often don’t plan ahead because they’re tired or distracted. There is no way an accident investigation can eliminate those things when speed, lack of planning, or distraction are identified.
I suspect the “study” was perhaps more concerned about finding something to justify that last sentence about promoting driving skills.