Bullshit Statistics
Thursday, February 14, 2008
I'm sorry, but I couldn't let this pass. According to an article about Billy Ray Cyrus apologizing about not wearing his seatbelt (I kid you not):
"According to 2006 data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 58.2 percent of all rear seat fatalities involved passengers who were not wearing seat belts, compared to 32.7 percent of fatalities for rear seat passengers who were wearing seat belts."
Let's do the math with these bullshit statistics. Out of all of the "rear seat fatalities", 58.2 percent "involved passengers who were notwearing seat belts" and 32.7 percent involved people, "who were wearing seat belts." 58.2 + 32.7 = 90.9. So what happened to the other 9.1%. I mean, this isn't .01 percent or even 1 percent. 9.1%. Let's assume there were 2,000 rear seat fatalities, which is probably a low estimate for a year. That's a whopping 182 people (9.1% of 2000) who died in some nefarious half-seat-belted category. WTF?!
All I am saying is that if you are going to post statistics, it would be nice if they made sense. My guess is that its all just a bunch of bullshit propoganda. There is a reason why most states do not require adult rear seat passengers to wear seat belts. But the government is also in love with bullshit propaganda like, "Click it or Ticket!" or "Buckle up. It's the Law!"
I'm not saying that the government should not encourage people to use seat belts. I just want them to do so in a manner that does not appear like bullshit. I mean, why is it that most school buses, WITH CHILDREN!!!, do not have seat belts in the seats.
The answer, my friends, is that its all a steaming pile of bullshit. Besides, even if you isolate the statistic for rear seat fatalities without seatbelts, 58.2 is damn close to 50% in my mind.
Until next time, make mine poker!
posted by Jordan @ 9:59 AM,
6 Comments:
-
At 11:02 AM,
Julius_Goat said...
-
The 10% represents the occasions when the board pairs and the fatality has a tie with the passenger.
Obv. Noob. -
At 11:51 AM,
said...
-
Guarantee it's a matter when it couldn't be determined by investigators if the rear seat passenger was wearing a seatbelt or not.
-
At 12:03 PM,
Alan aka RecessRampage said...
-
Hell, for most poker players, 30% is good enough to get all their money in. Dying in a coinflip situation would just be a bad beat.
Yours truly,
Nonseatbelt wearer in the backseat -
At 5:12 PM,
said...
-
seat belts can actually cause more harm during certain accidents
-
At 8:02 PM,
RaisingCayne said...
-
72.4% of ALL statistics... are completely made up right there on the spot.
-
At 3:27 PM,
TripJax said...
-
Goat wins for best comment. LOL.
