Spring Breaks And Road Fatalities - Essay Example

Fast Times at Spring Break: are Traffic Fatalities another Consequence? Introduction The intent of the work is to establish the impact of the spring break awarded to college students each year on the number of road accident; in a way to show the detrimental outcome of the break from normal activities. The spring break culture has been adopted by most colleges in the United States as a necessary breather from studies, but the students have had a very distinctive understanding of the same break. Over the period of the end of February and the beginning of April, millions of students go on these breaks and spend billions of dollars particularly on accommodation and alcohol. The core reason for the author’s urge to look into the matter is that a surge in fatal and non-fatal accidents is experienced in areas that act as hubs for spring break. The economic contribution to such region is a key player in them downplaying such information. The author uses information from departments of roads from the spring hub spots. This is arguably the most effective approach in that the information provided is realistic and dependable. The data outlined that the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents surged considerably during the spring break season, and other traffic issues such as over-speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol were also rampant (Murphy, Nancy & Christopher, 2012). The dependability of the information means that the results are very convincing. Variables The research takes to account numerous variables, for instance, dependent variable is defined as the total fatalities in a specific spring break county minus the total fatalities for the combined non-spring break counties in the corresponding state for the study on adjusted differences in total passenger vehicle fatalities. The dependable variables for the other quantitative studies in the overall study are different. Due to the nature of the study, intervening or mediating variables are not identified. The nature of dependability of the information used to build on the study means that the variables are of little significance since the data clearly indicates a huge margin of difference between the times the spring break if off, and when it is on. The dependent variable is the only form of variable indicated in the study, and the oversight on the other forms of variables may be as a result of their little significance in establishing the results. The definition and measurement of variable are not necessarily significant as the trend is apparent without them. Sample/Subjects The study is extensive and has a couple of subjects that it studies, but the key subjects can be viewed as the students who attend the spring breaks. However, the study literally revolves around all the subjects that play a part in the spring breaks starting with the colleges. The views of the colleges regarding the break are assessed to examine their credibility, since the author holds some form of resentment to the break. The favourite spots for the students are also subjects of scrutiny over the fact that they downplay the adverse outcomes of the break for economic reasons. The inclusion of many different serves the role of fulfilling the purpose of the study adequately. The study does not require samples since it is reliant of data collected from individual departments such as that of road safety. The results from the individual hub spots for spring break for college students cannot be generalized for all of America, but can be generalized for the key areas that act as hubs for the same students such as Miami, some cities in Mexico, and Texas (Scott-Halsell & Wanlanai, 2011). Some regions only act as where students travel from so do not experience the actual strain and exaltation that comes with the spring break. Findings The findings are statistically imperative, but only to a certain degree since the statistics were already available. The study does not establish the statistics but uses them from a different angle. The angle from which French and Gumus present the data offers a whole new understanding and makes it statistically significant. Equally, this study brings in a whole new understanding from a scientific point of view. The field of science has incessantly grown and merged with other fields such as psychology. For instance, understanding the behaviours of the students can be viewed as a science, and hence the study is important in this field. The most intriguing aspect to the study is that its findings are unique in a way most people would not anticipate. In fact, only a few individuals would link the spring break to traffic accidents. Many are likely to view the matter from an academic standpoint while others may take an economic view (Laurie, 2008). French and Gumu’s findings are very informative and likely to change the perspectives that most have. The findings are ‘practically’ very significant as they are likely to initiate a sequence of reactions from the authorities to curb the number of accidents. The findings are also relevant to students as they are likely to be more cautious. The conclusions in the study are adequately supported by the cited evidence from different dependable sources that verify that there is an adverse link between spring break and traffic accidents. The citing of the work and provision of dependable statistics all through the work makes it accurate and revealing. Flaws Although the research was carried out with the utmost professionalism, the researchers are somewhat inclined to indicating that there are no positive outcomes from the spring breaks. The thesis statement does not exemplify what the work will tackle adequately in that the attitude taken to compose it is not similar to that taken to compose the rest of the paper. The paper does not take a neutral perspective, but rather one that is against spring breaks by indicating that there is no good to be ripped. In this regard and the fact that the paper mainly focuses on the issue of spring breaks, the research does not fully enlighten the readers on the issue. The paper seems more inclined at showing the adverse outcome of road carnage that is as a direct impact of these breaks. In short, the only fact that one can learn from the research is how spring breaks bring a lot of detrimental outcomes. The paper does not try to clarify that there might be some desirable outcomes. An approach that would have made the paper more appealing and informative would be to take a more neutral point of view, although the ultimate objective would be to show adversities that may be born out of the generally popular breaks. The failure to do this may make some hold that the study is somewhat biased, and hence make them less likely to learn from it. References Laurie, J. (2008). Spring Break: The Economic, Socio-Cultural and Public Governance Impacts of College Students on Spring Break Host Locations. Paper 876, University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. Murphy, G., Nancy P. B., & Christopher J. C. (2012). Future Directions in College Student Alcohol Abuse Research and Prevention. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Scott-Halsell, S. A. & Wanlanai S. (2011). Spring Break: Pulling in the Student Market. Journal of Tourism Insights, 2(2) Read More