Jalopnik: Studies

Captain Obvious Of The Day: Teens Think They're Good Drivers, Like Loud Music

Travis Hudson — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:40:00 EDT

A recent study by Erie Insurance points out a lot of factors that anyone under the age of 60 probably already knows. The insurance company conducted a study surveying 2,127 licensed teenage drivers and came to the shocking conclusion that teens like to talk on the phone, text message and listen to loud music while driving.

Cell phone use among teens while driving is 76%
57% admit to texting "sometimes" or to often reading or sending text messages while driving
93% of teens play loud music when they drive
48% admit they're easily distracted when friends are passengers
91% think they're good drivers
34% say they're friends are good drivers
97% have witnessed other teens take risks while driving

I hope Erie Insurance didn't spend an awful lot figuring out those brain busters. [KT]

Mounting Evidence Says Red Light Cameras Increase Accidents

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:30:00 EST

Absentee policing is always a contentious issue. Those for it argue that red light cameras increase intersection safety and act as a deterrent to law breakers. Folks against them get the itchy, big-brother-is-watching feeling and then talk about due process. Well, that or they just blow the things to kingdom come. It seems evidence against red light cameras is mounting. The National Motorists Association, an organization dedicated to protecting the interests of motorists, has collected an international group of studies that point to an increase in accidents and accident severity as a result of the cameras.

Studies from the US, Canada, and Australia are cited and one in particular caught our attention. A study out of Ontario showed a 49.9% increase in property damage, and a 4.9% increase in fatalities after the installation of the cameras. If we were cynical, numbers like that would lead us to believe cameras are only there to collect revenue. [Motorists.org]

Traffic Jam Mystery Solved -- Blame the Wave!

Travis Hudson — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:45:00 EST

No, not the friendly hand wave, but the sporting event stadium wave. Mathematicians from the University of Exeter have solved the mystery of unaccountable traffic jams. You know, those traffic jams that involve no wrecked cars or other traffic-disrupting accidents, but are still capable of bringing traffic to a stand-still.

The big brains at the University of Exeter developed a model that shows how the most minor and minimal event can create a "backwards traveling wave." Think of it like how a wave starts at a stadium. A single drunk hooligan wants to start the wave. He gets his friends into it, they get the row into it, and the row gets the section to do it. Eventually on the other side of the stadium every person is raising their hands like a moron.

The same concept applies for traffic. When a jackass in a Miata (at least here in Dallas that is the most common occurrence) quickly enters the freeway and tries to merge four lanes over in steady flowing traffic, the small braking reaction from the non-jackass drivers behind the Miata builds up until five miles down the road traffic comes to a complete stop.

So when you are sitting in traffic trying to make it home for the holidays, don't be angry and bitter at the cars immediately around you. It's not their fault. However, feel free to curse out the schmucks five miles up who've slowed down for some silly reason and thus disrupted the flow of traffic. [Science Daily]

Men More Likely to Relate to Their Cars, Study Says

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:30:00 EDT

A UK study entitled " The Secret Life Of Cars And What They Reveal About Us" claims that men are far more likely to view their vehicle as an extension of their own being than women do, and thus are generally more irked or threatened by damage to their autos. Men also tend to adopt a more relaxed posture behind the wheel, often driving one-handed. It also notes that people are four times more likely to sing on the way to work than they are on the way home. We prefer to sing along to the original Broadway cast recording of Oklahoma!, okay? [The Electric New Paper]