Friday the 13th - a lucky day
2008-06-12 21:13
Amsterdam - Unlucky for some? Dutch statisticians have established that Friday 13th, a date regarded by many people as inauspicious, is actually safer than an average Friday.
A study published on Thursday by the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics (CVS) showed that fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur on a Friday the 13th 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 7 800 traffic accidents each Friday, the CVS study said. But the average figure when the 13th fell on a Friday to just 7 500.
There were also fewer incidents of fire and theft, although the average value of losses on Fridays 13th was slightly higher.
- Reuters