Source: The Mercury, October 26, 1998, p.3 Source: The Mercury, October 26, 1998, p.3
By GEOFF WILKINSON DRIVERS born under the sign of Capricorn are the biggest goats on Australia's roads, a study of birth dates and accident rates has found. Capricorn men and women drivers had the highest accident rates in the study of more than 600,000 insurance policy-holders in all states. Virgos were the least accident-prone women drivers. Virgos and Sagittarians are the safest men behind the wheel. The astrological accident survey was taken from AAMI motor insurance accident claims during 1997-98. - Herald Sun astrologist Shelley Von Strunckel said yesterday she was not surprised by the showing of Capricorns or Virgos. "It makes sense that cautious thorough, plan-ahead Virgos would not consider having an accident," Ms von Strunckel said. But she thought the Sagittarian males' rating could be compromised: "Sagittarian males are much less likely to report an accident because they haven't got the patience to fill out the forms. They'd rather go off to a mate who's got a repair shop and make a deal with him. "Capricorns probably reported absolutely everything. They're so thorough and such followers of rules they'd be afraid that if they didn't report something properly and right away, that their insurance would be cancelled." Starstruck drivers- * Males (from best to worst): Virgo and Sagittarius, Cancer, Pisces, Leo, Aries, Gemini, Libra Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpio, Capricorn. * Females: Virgo, Gemini, Libra Cancer, Aquarius, Sagittarius Taurus, Pisces and Scorpio, Leo, Aries, Capricorn. Ms von Strunckel's full assessments- * Earth signs (Virgo, Taurus and Capricorn): Thorough, cautious types. * Fire signs (Aries, Leo and Sagittarius): Short on the attention needed for form-filling, but long on the networking skills needed to get the pranged car fixed. * Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces): Emotional types who when upset and behind the wheel have a tendency to turn into "Mr Toad". * Air signs (Gemini, Libra an Aquarius): Tend to be airheads but are quick-thinking in an emergency.
TASMANIAN drivers have achieved the lowest rate of accident claims in Australia national insurer AAMI revealed yesterday. AAMI claims incidence figures show that in the 12 months to the end of June this year, Hobart recorded a 15.1% drop in the number of accident claims from the pre- vious year. In Launceston there was an 8.6% drop in claims, while in Devon- port there was a marginal 0.6% drop. There was a slight increase in the rate in Burnie. The research data is conducted in all states by Brian Sweeney and Associates. AAMI state manager James Marchant said yesterday the drop in the accident rate could be attributed to better driving conditions due to a lower rainfall total, the work of the Tasmanian Road Safety Task Force and growing safety awareness among motorists. However, he said the Sweeney research had found that Hobart drivers, along with those in Sydney and Melbourne, were most likely to show road rage and reckless driving tendencies.
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Index - Data Collection and Sampling
Index - Inference