Mississippi State’s Social Science Research Center has found, via new research, that spending more on gas shows a decline in auto accidents. This news comes at a time when gas prices have been slowly but steadily rising to record highs across the nation.
This was the first time that this specific research has been done before. Previous research has linked statistics of gas prices with fatalities before but this research dealt with all traffic accidents NOT just fatalities.
“Researcher Guangqing Chi examined a range of factors related to driving-related accidents in the state, including age, gender and race. The study analyzed total traffic crashes between April 2004 and December 2008, comparing gas prices to traffic safety statistics.”
Another interesting find from the research was the connection between the increase in gas prices and the reduced frequency of alcohol-related accidents.
The underlying cause of why there are less accidents occurring while gas prices are high isn’t clearly stated in the article on the research. We can only assume that people are not driving as much as they once were and that less people on the road is equivalent to less people in accidents. The link between the DUI #’s and the high gas prices may be that in this economy not as many people are willing to spend money out at bars in order to get their drinks and stay home instead, getting rid of the risk of a DUI accident.
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