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Traffic deaths and superstition on Friday the 13th
1Department of Public Health Science and General Practice, University of Oulu, Oulu FIN-00014, Finland. simo.nayha@oulu.fi
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|November 27, 2002
Summary
Friday the 13th poses a heightened risk of traffic fatalities, particularly for women, due to superstition-induced anxiety. Reducing this risk could save lives, though the overall impact remains minimal.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Sociology
Background:
- Superstition surrounding Friday the 13th has been anecdotally linked to increased accidents.
- Previous research has not rigorously quantified the impact of this date on traffic fatalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether Friday the 13th is associated with a higher incidence of traffic accident deaths compared to other Fridays.
- To analyze potential differences in risk between sexes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Finnish national data on traffic accident deaths (1971-1997) by sex and age.
- Employed negative binomial regression to calculate adjusted risk ratios for fatalities on Friday the 13th versus other Fridays.
Main Results:
- A 1.02 risk ratio for men and a 1.63 risk ratio for women were observed on Friday the 13th compared to other Fridays.
- An estimated 38% of traffic deaths among women on this specific date were attributed to the superstition itself.
Conclusions:
- Friday the 13th presents a statistically significant increased risk of traffic fatalities for women, likely driven by anxiety from superstition.
- While potential interventions could reduce this risk by approximately one-third, the absolute reduction in deaths is very small.