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Surveys show that surveys never lie,” according to writer Natalie Angier, but that doesn’t always mean they tell the entire truth. Polls and surveys are only as good as the information that guides them.
For example, take the list of “Counties with the most motor vehicle incident fatalities in North Carolina” published last week on Stacker.com. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic amid lockdowns, national media outlets were quick to note how little traffic there was as a result. Simple logic would suggest that less traffic would equal a lower likelihood of accidents – and thus fewer injuries and fatalities – but, sadly, this was not the case.
Nationwide, traffic fatalities rose 7.2 percent in 2020 to nearly 39,000, the highest number recorded since 2007. While common denominators behind traffic deaths – such as impaired driving, failure to use a seat belt and excessive speed – were contributing factors, they alone do not account for a rise in deaths commensurate with Americans driving a total of 430 million fewer miles than they did the year before.
What can be qualified, however, is where fatal crashes took place. Citing data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Stacker identified the counties in North Carolina that had the most fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2020. The website only ranked those with five or more deaths, which is why neighboring Clay and Graham counties are not included.
With that information coming from a usually reliable source, you can feel relatively assured that Cherokee County’s ranking of No. 43 among the 100 counties statewide is accurate. That’s based on 17.5 motor vehicle crash fatalities per 100,000 people, with five deaths – four involving drunk drivers. Thankfully, they were no bicyclist or pedestrian deaths, although I sometimes wonder when our luck will run out while using crosswalks in downtown Murphy.
(FYI, the place you don’t want to drive in across North Carolina is Northampton County, which had a whopping 55.8 fatalities per 100,000 people to rank first as the worst.)
On the other end of the survey scale is WalletHub.com, which produces all kinds of lists in an attempt to get its name out there for free. (Hey, it worked!) One of the latest rankings allegedly shows the Best & Worst Community Colleges in America for 2022.
Ranked No. 1 out of 677 schools is State Technical College of Missouri, which I didn’t even know existed until I pulled up the list. While Southwestern Community College in nearby Sylva isn’t even on there for some reason, Tri-County Community College is – at No. 632. What in the name of the former prison camp is going on here?
Things start to come into focus when you look art WalletHub’s methodology, which evaluated the schools based on three key dimensions – cost and financing (TCCC ranked No. 286), education outcomes (621) and career outcomes (590). Tri-County suffers on this list not necessarily because it’s doing something wrong, but because it doesn’t have nearly as many options as community colleges in larger areas with higher pay scales and additional opportunities.
Even if we disagree with the numbers, it’s good to take from them what we can in order to see how we can improve. North Carolina ranked No. 25 among the 50 states in WalletHub’s list of Best & Worst Community College Systems, so clearly there are plenty of good things happening here, too.
Mark Twain once wrote, “There are lies, damnable lies and then there are statistics.” That means a clever person can make numbers say just about anything they want them to, which is why whoever’s in charge can always claim they have the support of the people.
So when you’re examining poll and survey results in the future, don’t panic if the numbers aren’t adding up. Much like when considering what news channel to watch, consider their methodology and sources before making a final decision on whether what you’re getting is accurate.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.