Why marathons are safer than elections

All the research I've studied lately seems to lead toward one conclusion: cars bad, bicycles or foot power good.

Marathons reduce road accidents

According to a British journal, "... marathons lower the risk of fatal motor vehicle crashes that might otherwise have taken place if the roads had not been closed."

On the other hand, road accidents rise on election day.

So it seems to me that what this world needs is more marathons and fewer elections. Can we take a vote on that?

Don't drive in the rain

Almost 25% of car crashes occur in bad weather. But apparently, snow and ice aren't responsible for as many crashes as mere rain. More accidents occurred in the southern parts of the U.S., which don't really go in for the ice and snow like the Midwest does.

"Many drivers recognize that snow and ice can cause them to lose control of their cars, but most underestimate the dangers that rain can pose. For this reason, more people travel in wet weather, and do not realize the need to adjust to lower speeds when traveling on wet roads."

On the other hand, runners and cyclists...

tend to reduce speed a whole lot when the weather's bad. Or opt to spend the day at the gym. Or they just go back inside, curl up on the couch, and catch up on the latest in Reality TV shows.

Yeah, we'll run later...
Photo credit: cursedthing

It's true what they say about Those Kinds of Drivers

People always told me that Volvo drivers were the worst on the road, because they felt safer in their cars. Turns out there might be something in that theory. (Not necessarily Volvo drivers, but in general people in 'safe' cars.)

According to The Smithsonian, the concept is that humans have an inborn tolerance for risk—meaning that as safety features are added to vehicles and roads, drivers feel less vulnerable and tend to take more chances. The feeling of greater security tempts us to be more reckless. Behavioral scientists call it "risk compensation."

Likewise, airbags and anti-lock brakes seem to thwart their intent because drivers with these are more aggressive.

I think there's a lot of truth in these studies, but I take exception to one part of this research.

These experts go on to say that this practice extends to sports, but I don't see that in my own commute. Cyclists wearing bicycle helmets are not nearly as risk-seeing as the ones who don't wear helmets but do wear headphones. Those are the ones you have to watch out for.

See? Wearing a helmet makes people happy.

Note: no one in this picture is wearing a helmet.

Likewise, a runner wearing fancified running shoes with a garmin or whatever is much less likely to take off his shoes and throw them at you even if you're a foreign president visiting his country. It took too much money to get his shoes; he'll want to keep them near his feet.

I know that if a study agrees with your own observed behavior, you're more likely to agree with it.



But I don't see people with fancy types of safety sports equipment being reckless, unlike people who drive fancy cars.

Moral? Buy lots of fancy sports equipment and stop saving up for that Lexus. You'll live longer. So long as you don't vote.

Asleep at the Wheel

[By Crabby]

The management of Cranky Fitness apologizes for not having a real post today. The Crab was in transit most of Tuesday and she found (surprise!) that when she got back she was too exhausted to think. And Merry is getting ready to go on an interstate journey of her own--to retrieve her beloved allergy-prone dog. So we're sorry--we hate to be lame, but... well, we got nuthin'.

And at least the Crab half of the Cranky Fitness team will apologize in advance for possible interruptions in service over the next month or so. (The cross-country move is indeed happening, which entails packing things up and completing renovations on the Provincetown house and climbing into the van and driving cross country with the cat who is too old to fly).

The worst part about blog slackitude is not getting to stop by often enough at all your fine blogs out there--which really is frustrating when there's so much great stuff going on there! However, eventually the Crab and Lobster will be settled and normal operations will resume. (Hooray for Merry, who even when moving is much more reliable!)

But there will be posts tomorrow and Friday, so please don't give up on us.

Oh wait, here's one thing: while flying in the unpleasant little airplane yesterday eating my Terra Blue potato chips and warding off crashes by gripping the armrest, I came across an article in USA Today. And it was a reminder that there are better things to fear than flying in airplanes.

The article was all about how people don't get enough sleep these days and it contained this rather horrifying statistic: Thirty six percent of people surveyed admitted to nodding off or falling asleep while driving.

Thirty six percent? Holy Crap!

Given that people are not terribly likely to make embarrassing confessions when taking surveys, you gotta figure the real numbers are even higher. Forty percent? Fifty percent? Sixty percent? Arrgghh!

Does anyone else find this statistic alarming?

Note: IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO DRIVE SAFELY WHILE YOU ARE ASLEEP.

There is nothing shameful about feeling tired. But please, if you're really, really sleepy, DON'T DRIVE. And if it sneaks up on you, pull the f*ck over, even if it means being late to something important or feeling creeped out by sleeping in your car.

This has been a Cranky Fitness public service announcement. Now let's all banish unpleasant thoughts of sleeping drivers from our minds--and have a very pleasant Wednesday!