Close games raise risks of traffic deaths

Just in time for the NBA and NHL playoffs, a new study brings disturbing news for sports fans: When your team wins a nail-biter, you face a higher risk of dying in a crash on the way home.

The study by researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of South Carolina finds that traffic deaths rise in the hometowns of winning teams on game days  and even more the closer a game is. The pattern holds whether the game is home or away. We were just amazed at the size of the effect, says study co-author Stacy Wood, professor of marketing at North Carolina State University.

Researchers examined data from 271 professional and collegiate football and basketball games from 2001 to 2008, focusing on highly anticipated events such as playoff and rivalry games. Because final scores dont always reflect how close a game really was, the authors asked diehard sports fans to rate the games studied.

They then cross-checked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations fatality database with the game dates to determine how many fatal collisions occurred in those cities on game days.

We find that the closer a game is the more automobile fatalities there are, especially those involving alcohol, says the study, to be published in the December Journal of Consumer Research. This increase in the number of fatalities, however, only happens in locations with high numbers of winning fans (game sites and winning hometown). The research did not determine whether people who died in accidents after the 271 games had seen or attended them or whether their vehicles had been struck by people who had.

Prior research has shown that winning fans exhibit sharp increases in testosterone at the end of games while losers exhibit sharp decreases; increases in testosterone are associated with increased aggressive behavior in men and women.

The authors state that going from a blow-out to a nail-biter increases observed fatalities by 133%. … It may be fair to say that, on any given day, the danger of a close game is as detrimental as the absence of seat belt laws.

Researchers found no increase in fatalities in the losing teams hometowns.