New research shows that male pedestrians who are struck by cars are more than twice as likely to die from their injuries as their female counterparts. That’s after controlling for age and taking into account that male and female pedestrians tend to walk the same amounts each day.
The study, conducted by Dr. Motao Zhu of the West Virginia University School of Public Health, analyzed traffic data from 2008 and 2009 and found that males pedestrians are 2.3 times more likely to die after being hit by a vehicle. We’ll repeat: That doesn’t mean men are more likely to be hit by a car. It means that, among pedestrians who have already been struck, men are more than twice as likely to succumb to their injuries.
Though further study is necessary to pinpoint exact causes, Zhu already has a hypothesis: Though they’re walking the same amount as female pedestrians, males are engaging in riskier behavior that leads them to receive more severe injuries with a greater risk of fatality.
via Wired
December 14, 2012
