1. Variables II, Comparisons, and the Epidemiology of Traffic Safety

2. William Haddon and the Epidemiology of Traffic Safety Two ways to decrease the number and severity of injuries from automobile accidents: 1.) active approach 2.) passive approach

3. Why the passive approach? “inattentional blindness” and the missing gorilla D. Simons’ psychology research (Harvard)

4. The Debate Within the Passive Approach David Strayer (Univ. of Utah psychologist) study on cell-phone usage while driving seat belts vs. air bags -- What did the data show? What was William Haddon’s “mistake”? What is the “blindness of ideology”? e.g., example of Australia’s state of Victoria in early 1970s Compulsory laws/requirements can be invaluable/helpful e.g., UR’s field of study requirements? vaccinations before Kindergarten and College? mandatory salary deductions for retirement (“Social Security/Medicare”) mandatory blood tests for marriage certificates, college admissions?

5. Big and Bad: How the SUV Ran Over Automotive Safety Cultural anthropologist G. Clotaire Rapaille’s focus group surveys: “cortex” vs. “reptilian” levels of consciousness -Porsche (active safety) vs. TrailBlazer (passive safety) braking test from 60 m.p.h. to stopped: Porsche (124 feet) TrailBlazer (150 feet) Porsche Boxster Chevrolet Trailblazer

6. When Drivers Decided to Treat Accidents as Inevitable rather than Avoidable, “Feeling Safe Become More Important than Actually Being Safe” 35-m.p.h. crash test Cadillac Escalade vs. Ford Windstar 16%chance of a life-threatening head injury2% 20% chance of a life-threatening chest injury4% 35% chance of a leg-injury1%

11. “Learned Helplessness” Question: Why are Jettas and Camrys so much safer than SUVs and trucks? We live in an age that is strangely fixated on the idea of helplessness: hurricanes, SARS, terrorism—situations in which we feel powerless to affect our own destiny. In fact the risks posed to life and limb are dwarfed by the factors we can control. Our fixation with helplessness (e.g., accidents are inevitable) distorts our perceptions of risk, so we buy S.U.V’s in extraordinary numbers, when they are some of the least safe vehicles on the road (perfectly head on accidents are the minority and rare). In the age of the S.U.V., people worry about safety—not risks, however commonplace, involving their own behavior but risks, however rare, involving some unexpected event (e.g., blown Firestone tires accounted for.0005% of the thousands of people killed driving S.U.V.’s).

12. Gasoline and Oil Prices since 1970

13. Current Statistics Approx. 42,000 people die each year in traffic accidents - 2003: 1 st time in six years that motor vehicle deaths fell Why? Motorcycle deaths rose by 12% last year, and were up 73% since 1997. Why? People driving or riding in an SUV in 2003 were nearly 11% more likely to die in an accident than people in cars (due primarily to rollovers).

14. Variables are “Operationalized” Concepts measuring automotive safety: e.g., (variables = # of cupholders, # of deaths, accidents, injuries) measuring people’s “religiosity” (variable = ?) measuring degrees of professional achievement (variable = ?) measuring student happiness at UofR (variable = ?) measuring people’s views of “family values” (variable = ?) measuring degree of anti-Semitism (variable = ?)

15. Making Comparisons: Describing Patterns & Graphing Relationships Zip CodeGeographic Area Per Capita Income Per Capita Sales 21205Broadway - Monument Street$10,988$453.50 21649Marydel$11,158$365.30 21867Upper Fairmont$11,305$282.40 21223Carroll - Union Square - Frank$11,586$575.80 21225Pumphrey$11,674$202.50 21202Greenmount - Inner Harbor$12,100$491.60 21213Belair\Edison - Clifton$12,618$440.50 21217Druid Hill Park - Bolton Hill$13,008$413.20 21216Walbrook - Forest Park$13,403$288.60 21036Dayton$41,077$83.4 20777Highland$43,048$41.4 20842Dickerson$44,394$15.2 20759Fulton$45,080$65.3 21131Phoenix$45,724$57.6 21210Roland Park$46,973$25.5 20817Bethesda-West$60,593$60.7 20854Potomac$64,104$24.3 20815Chevy Chase$65,838$3.7