April 11, 2012 According to an article released by CNN News, a new study conducted by doctors at the University of Toronto and published in the most recent copy of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the number of serious car accidents increases by as much as 6 percent on Tax Day. The study examined 6,783 individuals who lost their lives in car accidents over a 30-year time period during specific dates. Researchers selected only those accidents that occurred during the week before, of, or after Tax Day for the study. They found that during the week of Tax Day, the nation saw an average jump of around 13 fatal traffic accidents over the prior and following week. Authors of the study, Dr. Donald Redelmeier and Christopher Yarnell, attributed the spike in the number of serious crashes to a combination of factors including:
- greater alcohol consumption,
- sleep deprivation,
- distraction of tax preparation,
- and stress.