Section 2 - Applying various mathematical techniques in the analysis and exploration of the data
Section 2a - Analyzing data involving one variable
Problem
There were serious limitations concerning the Fathom data itself. I preferred the Ministry of Transportation data because it was Canadian and compares accidents to age and the age distribution of drivers. Although I did quite a bit of analysis with the Fathom data, it was only after I located the MTO data website http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english, and its Ontario Road Safety Annual Report 2000 that I made substantial progress.
With this data, exploration will take place concerning drivers involved in collisions and drivers killed with both put into perspective concerning the amount of drivers licensed per age group. This should allow me to draw useful conclusions concerning the distribution of insurance rates.Plan
To gather data from the MTO website, access the internet address http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/ and press "search". Search the MTO for the "Ontario Road Safety Annual Report 2000". Access or download the full report, not chapters, in .pdf format. The .pdf file can be found at the internet address http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/orsar/orsar00/ors_00.pdf .The data to be used is found on table 2.2 "Category of Person Killed by Age Groups 2000" and table 2.20 "Driver Age Groups - Number Licensed, Collision Involvement and Per Cent Involved in Collisions 2000". I think the limitations of the data are insignificant, e.g. unlicensed drivers are taken into consideration for "Drivers Involved in Collisions" but not added to the "Driver's Licensed" used to calculate the "% of Drivers of Each Age Involved in Collisions".Data
The data obtained from the MTO is as follows as entered into Fathom Collection Charts:
I have revised the charts to include the age group 16-24 and the data has been
restricted to include only the data I want to explore.In Fathom the following dot plots were made to graphically represent the data in table 2.2 and table 2.20:
Graph 1: Population of Licensed Drivers by Age Group
Graph 2: Population of Drivers Involved in Collisions by Age Group
Graph 3: The percentage of Drivers Involved in Collisions by Age Group
Graph 4: The amount of Drivers Killed in an Accident by Age Group
Graph 5: The Percentage of Drivers Killed (considering Drivers Licensed) in an
Accident by Age Group
Analysis
Graph 1 shows a bell-shaped curve of licensed drivers by age group with the
most licensed drivers being in the 35-44 year old range. Graph 2 shows that
the age group involved in most collisions is the 35-44 year olds. Graph 3
shows a regression in values and that the highest percentage of drivers
involved in collisions when the amount of licensed drivers is taken into
consideration is the 16-24 year olds. This reveals that even though there are
more 35-44 year olds involved in accidents than 16-24, it can be explained by
the greater amount of 35-44 year old licensed drivers. Graph 4 shows a
regression in deaths as age increases but when graph 5 is taken into
consideration there is not really a difference in the amount of deaths between
age groups.Conclusion
The data represented in graph 3 reveals that the percentage of drivers involved
in a collision decreases as age increases. However, our data does not take into
account the amount of driving done by age group or how often they are on the
road. This data could support a decrease in insurance rates as age increases
so in the next section I will explore insurance costs and further explore the data
in graph 3.
