not anymore. Nothing even remotely related to journalism is reflected in the pages of the failing paper.
For example: In the Metro section of Boston Sunday Globe on July 18, the top of the page headline reads, "
Elderly drivers in fewer accidents than others." Well, that's true, but it would also be true to point out that licensed drivers who are also incarcerated felons have fewer accidents. The Globe states that last year drivers aged 75 and older accounted for 7 percent of licensed drivers and accounted for 3.6 percent of all crashes. Without including miles driven, these numbers mean nothing, but the Globe even includes a bar graph. The total crashes involving drivers age 75 and older was less in 2008(7144) than in 2005(8740). The decline in accidents since 2005 is not relevant to the story without more facts. Nor is it relevant to the three people, including a four-year-old, that were mentioned as having been killed in the last month in Massachusetts by elderly drivers.
Readers have to dig their way through paragraph after paragraph of useless statistics to some information pertinent to the issue: "The GAO[Government Accountability Office] noted that the crash rate for elderly drivers is lower than for younger drivers, in part because they log fewer miles per year than younger drivers. They also noted that many elderly drivers hold licenses even though they no longer drive and often avoid getting behind the wheel at night and during rush hour, when crashes tend to occur."
So elderly drivers that don't drive are in less crashes than others. Maybe the Boston globe should have gone with that for a headline.
"They also found that intersections pose more of a problem for the elderly. In 2004, drivers age 65 or older accounted for 37 percent of fatal crashes at intersections, compared with 18 percent for drivers age 26 to 64."
Mary Maguire of the AAA is quoted at the end of the story, "We think that accurate and useful assessment tools are needed to try to determine whether there's a level of impairment, at any age"
What we know is that Massachusetts politicians value votes more than public service and that whether they drive or not - the elderly vote.
We also know that the Boston Globe wants them to vote for liberals.
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