Short Takes - 2005-02-07

More people are killed in road accidents in the US on July 4th than on any other day of the year, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. On average 117 people died every day on US roads between 1986-2002. More road deaths occurred in summer and autumn than during the other seasons. But New Year's Day had the most pedestrian deaths and the fifth-largest number of daily deaths. Saturday was the worst day for road deaths and between 5-6 in the afternoon was the peak time. The study appeared in the journal Injury Prevention.