The car you drive is the most important thing in your life, so when it’s broken it’s a real problem.
But a new study finds that for many people, that means their car could be at risk of serious injury, disability, or death.
And it’s not just car damage.
The study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, finds that some people who drive cars at high speeds — as many as 70 mph in a matter of minutes — have an increased risk of car crashes.
And the study also found that people who suffer from anxiety or depression are at greater risk of being killed by a car crash.
“We’re looking at the impact that our cars have on people’s lives,” said study author Andrew Sorensen, an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, who co-authored the study with his colleague, psychiatrist Katherine Hargreaves.
The study found that there are two types of car crash risk factors: the number of times someone drives a car at high speed and how fast the car is going.
“The more you drive, the more you’re at risk,” Soreksen said.
Sorensensen and his co-author found that the average driver crashes about three times a year.
But when they looked at the risk of injury, the risk jumped to four or more times.
And if you drive faster than 70 mph, the car’s chances of injury are also higher.
“The risk of an accident with your car is so much higher than the risk from being hit by a drunk driver,” Sorensen said.
And while many people have a sense of self-control when they’re driving, that self-regulation can be overwhelmed by their cars.
“If you don’t have that sense of control, then the car can go off at a sudden rate and you end up getting hit by another car,” Sognsen said, “or you can end up with an accident and you lose a leg.”
For example, Soressen said that the risk that a person would get killed by an intoxicated driver is a third of that of someone who drives at 65 mph.
“People who drive at 60 mph are three times more likely to get killed than someone who gets killed by drunk drivers,” Sotnsen added.
In addition to Sorenensen, Harges and Harg, other authors included neuroscientists Daniel J. Raffanelli, Daniel L. Stobert, and Jeffrey S. Giese.
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