Being Vaccinated Against COVID-19 Makes You A Better Driver

Dec. 16, 2022 11:40 AM ET byGerhard Horn Offbeat /53 Comments

A new study says vaccinated drivers are better than those who didn't get the jab.

If you haven't had the COVID-19 vaccine, you stand a higher chance of getting in a car accident. This is because the vaccinated have a direct line to Bill Gates, who is constantly feeding them driving advice. We're kidding, of course. This controversial statement comes from a new study published inThe American Journal of Medicine.

现在,我们肯定有很多参考tators on Facebook claiming that the vaccine made people magnetic and even changed their DNA, but that's not what this is about. It boils down to the level of risk people are willing to take, and those who were willing to risk their lives by not taking the vaccine are more prone to being involved in an accident.

The study was conducted by three doctors tracking 11,270,763 individuals over one month. Of the people involved in the survey, 16% had not received the vaccine, while 84% were up to date with their vaccines and booster shots.

Following a month, the 11 million plus group was involved in 6,682 traffic crashes. The unvaccinated individuals accounted for 1,682 accidents (25%). When calculated, the relative risk is 72% compared to vaccinated individuals. In other words, unvaccinated individuals are 72% more likely to be involved in an accident.

That's the same estimated risk as someone with sleep apnea and more than a person with diabetes. It's not as risky as driving under the influence of alcohol, however.

So does the vaccine make you a better driver? Not at all. The vaccine doesn't even factor into it. If you have been vaccinated, you're no better at driving than before.

This study is more about psychological correlations between getting a vaccine and following traffic regulations. "We theorized that individual adults who tend to resist public health recommendations might also neglect basic road safety guidelines," the study reads.

Let's break down the basic math. The 6,682 individuals mentioned required hospital care at a rate of about 200 per day. That's on the money for a high-income country like the USA. When you take the crashes of the unvaccinated, it works out to 912 persons per million, while vaccinated works out to 530 per million. The difference corresponded to a relative risk of 1:72 for patients who had not received a COVID vaccine. Across all possible characteristics, the figures for the unvaccinated were higher, as you can see below.

Apart from being interesting, does this study have any value? As we know, risk goes hand-in-hand with insurance. Insurance rates for aToyota GR86are higher than those for aRAV4, and we don't need a study to find out why that is.

The virus had a significant impact on the motoring industry. It's responsible for the ongoing semiconductor shortage, early production stoppages, andmanufacturers using their factories to build respirators. It alsochanged the way cars are designedand motivatednew technology that cleanses interior air. Businesses are there to make money, whether they offer insurance or some other product, and we wouldn't be surprised if COVID will now have an impact on how insurers do business.

Will insurance companies change the way they evaluate clients? Who knows? One thing is for sure. The comments section of this article is about to turn into a dumpster fire.