Saturday, June 14, 2008

Friday the 13th not so unlucky

Unlucky for some? Dutch statisticians have established that Friday 13th, a date regarded in many countries as inauspicious, is actually safer than an average Friday.
 
A study published today by the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics (CVS) showed that fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday than on other Fridays.

"I find it hard to believe that it is because people are preventatively more careful or just stay home, but statistically speaking, driving is a little bit safer on Friday 13th," CVS statistician Alex Hoen told the Verzekerd insurance magazine.

In the last two years, Dutch insurers received reports of an average 7800 traffic accidents each Friday, the CVS study said.

But the average figure when the 13th fell on a Friday was just 7500.

There were also fewer incidents of fire and theft, although the average value of losses on Fridays 13th was slightly higher.  
 
 

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