Closing roads for marathons leads to fewer traffic deaths. No. Really. It’s true. I didn’t believe it at first either but then I saw this scientific study last night while I was not running again. Researchers at Canada’s University of Toronto (as opposed to Australia’s University of Toronto, I suppose) led by Dr. Donald Redelmeier have determined through an extensive study that there were 2 fewer traffic fatalities per day in counties where roads were closed for a marathon.
When reached for comment Dr. Redelmeier said “I’ve been wanting to scientifically prove this ever since I bet Dr. Munson that traffic deaths were lower during marathons and he scoffed at the idea.” Here we are, thousands of taxpayer dollars down the road and Dr. Redelmeier has finally won the argument and the respect of his peers. Up next for Dr. Munson is a study to prove that less people fall victim to frostbite in tropical climates, before initiating a probe into how the old “pull my finger” gag works.
Thus, why it is absurd that races ban headphones. A race is probably the safest environment for a runner to listen to an iPod!
ReplyDeleteI swear I saw that picture today... I never would have guessed that closing the road would result in fewer traffic deaths. What a suprise, as this person is a Doctor, from where? Cracker-Jack University. Would that be abbreviated as CU?
ReplyDeleteHalf-fast, I an half-convinced we do have a university of Toronto down-under. That kind of study sounds dreadfully familiar.
ReplyDeleteOh, Vanilla. You know that Toronto is in Canada ... as a Canadian (and former Torontonian), I've got tears in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll offer to do the statistics for him for those next two studies.
ReplyDeleteyou said 'probe' and 'pull my finger' in the same sentence. i like you.
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