Current Events Watch

Three hundred and three million plus. That’s the government’s guesstimate of the current population here in the United States. That’s a lot of people! I certainly hope, though, that the geek squads at Census Central are aware of the results of the study done by Randy Pausch’s fellow professors Paul Fischbeck and David Gerard of Carnegie Mellon University, lest the numbers become skewed. A formulaic tweak may be in order! According to the Associated Press and as reported by ABC news:

“After clocks are turned back this weekend, pedestrians walking during the evening rush hour are nearly three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars than before the time change, two scientists calculate.”

As per the report, between October and November, once we’ve all duly fallen back, the per-mile risk to those on foot on our highways and byways jumps by an alarming 186 percent! It drops to 21 percent once December rolls around. Unless you’re one of the amble-prone who like living on the edge, it might behoove you to consider public transportation for a few weeks. Better safe than sorry!

Lord knows that I personally have no reason to worry. As it turns out, my lazy gene may actually be a lifesaver! I hoof it as far as the fridge from time to time for a Bud Light, but that’s about it. For those of you who are pedestrially inclined, however, you might want to watch your step, folks! The statistics are, clearly, quite startling!

Understandably, I suppose, the most perilous time of the day is about 6pm-ish, with the premature setting of the sun catching both drivers and their pedestrian victims completely off-guard! That certainly does mess with one’s head, so it’s really no surprise that the study’s horseless-carriage fatality rate is so disturbing.

Sometimes it’s hard, though, to wrap the mind around such phrases as “percentages of increase” or “x-number of times more likely to”, without putting those data in terms of real-world numbers. That’s what really makes it hit home.

So, take a deep breath, all rush-hour bipedal travelers. Fischbeck and Gerard, having extensively researched seven years of federal traffic fatalities, determined that nationwide, from sea to shining sea, the number of death-by-car incidents in November increases by an average of 37! Oh, the humanity!

That will certainly make you stop and think, I’ll bet! It’s human nature, of course, to tend to think that when tragedy befalls another, “Oh, that’s horrible, but [fill in the blank] could never happen to me!” Well, I’m just suggesting to all who may normally wander about afoot, throwing caution to the wind, that you should perhaps reconsider your mode of transportation for at least the next thirty days. Is it really worth the risk of being one of those unlucky 37? Remember, there are only 303,000,000 other potential targets. Worth taking a chance? I would think not. The results are in, you do the math.

daylight savings time, spring forward fall back, time change, standard time, pedestrian fatalities