Does eating while driving make an accident more likely? Researchers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration looked at national traffic and accident records from a recent year for those drivers who were eating versus those who were not. Result: The odds of an accident were 80 percent higher when eating than when not.
An example of a lurking variable that might affect the results of this study is:
A) whether the subject had an auto accident.
B) whether the subject was eating.
C) whether the subject was talking to a passenger in the car.
D) whether the subject owned a cell phone.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The study only looked at whether or not the driver was eating while driving and did not consider any other potential distractions, such as talking to a passenger in the car. Therefore, it is possible that the higher odds of an accident for those who were eating were actually due to this lurking variable of passenger conversation.

Does Eating While Driving Make an Accident More Likely? Researchers