During the second to last class, we will review what we've learned throughout the semester; and, in the spirit of the class, we will review via a hands-on activity. 

Being as though Halloween has just passed, perhaps it's appropriate for us to look at real-life examples of Halloween-related claims often found in the news. For instance, a recent article in USA Today discusses child pedestrian auto deaths. This article states that

"Halloween is one of the most dangerous days of the year for kids walking around outside. Cars and other motor vehicles pose a particular hazard. From 2011 to 2020, more child pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle crashes that happened on Halloween than on any other date."

Yet another article from Vox states that 

"That’s because pedestrians under the age of 18 are three times more likely to be struck and killed by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year."

This article goes on to state that "pedestrians under the age of 18 are three times more likely to be struck and killed by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year." Let us use what we've learned over the course of the semester to examine these statements with a scientific mind.

To develop a careful and nuanced view, it is often helpful to ask novel questions. For instance, we can ask if there are there other ways to interpret and present the above-cited (or similar) data.  The data originate from the US Department of Transportation. This affords us the opportunity to examine child pedestrian deaths in a way that will shed light on the relative risk of Halloween. 

Open the DOT link above, and click on the "Pedestrians" tab at the top. The site allows you to select one row and one column. Upon selecting one of each, one can download the data by selecting the "Table" tab and then clicking "Submit". This will open a table, and the data can be downloaded from this page in pdf, rtf, and Excel formats. 

Within your groups, discuss what data you would like to study; but, keep to child pedestrian auto deaths. Choose data that help you explore the validity of the statements in the USA Today and Vox articles. Plot your chosen data in an appropriate way, and use the plot to explain the following:

• Do the above-mentioned two articles convincingly support the statements made in those articles, in your opinion?

• Regardless of whether your answer to the above question is "yes" or "no", could similar statements be made regarding the data you downloaded from DOT? In other words, can you come to the same conclusions as in the two above-mentioned articles, but for a different risk to child pedestrian auto deaths?

You do not need to make a presentation or poster of your work; take your plot, properly labelled, and attach it the chart discussed below.

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