Vehicular Venison

It’s that time again. The leaves are turning bright autumn colors, and lovesick deer on the road to romance are finding it crowded with motor vehicles. There are more deer and cars in the U.S. than ever before, so the situation isn’t as amusing as it might initially seem. Deer cause car crashes that kill about 200 people in the US each year, twice as many as Hurricane Sandy. State Farm Insurance says deer collided with 1.23 million vehicles between July 2011 and June 2012, 7.7 percent more than last year. The company’s claims from deer collisions rose almost 8 percent while those for other collisions fell 8.5 percent.

Obesity Health Risk

One-third of Americans are obese, and we all know obese people run a greater risk of heart attack and some forms of cancer. Researchers at the University of Buffalo have found another danger. In a car crash, morbidly obese people are 56 percent more likely to die than people of normal weight. Even less-oversized obese people are 21% more likely to perish in auto accidents. Maybe that’s because many fat folks don’t buckle their seat belts.

“Deadly decision: Obese drivers are far less likely to buckle up,” press release.

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Image (“Obesity Health Risk”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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