On 21/01/2016 01:06, Ashton Crusher wrote:
On Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:44:05 -0800, Jack Black
wrote:

Finally, after years of looking, they found proof that texting causes
accidents!

Here is the quote!

Overall, the hospitalization rate in those states declined by 7 percent
versus states with no bans, the researchers report in the American Journal
of Public Health.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texting-...-a-difference/

how do they know texting laws, which I assume are almost completely
ignored anyway, are the cause of the decline in hospitalizations?

Showing cause and effect is really hard with real people in the real world.

In this study they took hospitalisation data caused by car accidents and
tried to measure if there is any difference between states that have a
ban with those that don't. By creating a mathematical model against 8
years worth of data they could test whether the presence of the ban
results in a measurable and meaningful difference. They found a 7%
difference which given the amount of data they had was strong enough to
be explained by the presence or not a texting ban.