Project Title
Does Driving Make People Suicidal?
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Brooke Conoway
Abstract
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) found that the average American drove 14,724 miles in 2019, more than any other country in the world. Because many American cities are designed in such a way that owning a car is necessary, many people have no choice but to drive. Additionally, suicide rates are a major problem in the United States. According to The Commonwealth Fund, suicide accounts for 14 deaths per 100,000 people in the US, a rate higher than in any other wealthy nation. I use individual survey data to examine the relationship between driving and suicide. Controlling for income, sex, mental health, and drug abuse I use an ordinary least squares regression to estimate the effect that the number of miles an individual drives weekly has on their likelihood of having suicidal thoughts. I find that there is no statistically significant effect.
Does Driving Make People Suicidal?
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) found that the average American drove 14,724 miles in 2019, more than any other country in the world. Because many American cities are designed in such a way that owning a car is necessary, many people have no choice but to drive. Additionally, suicide rates are a major problem in the United States. According to The Commonwealth Fund, suicide accounts for 14 deaths per 100,000 people in the US, a rate higher than in any other wealthy nation. I use individual survey data to examine the relationship between driving and suicide. Controlling for income, sex, mental health, and drug abuse I use an ordinary least squares regression to estimate the effect that the number of miles an individual drives weekly has on their likelihood of having suicidal thoughts. I find that there is no statistically significant effect.