Logical Reasoning

PT145 · S4 · Q19 Studies have shown that pedestrians

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Studies have shown that pedestrians are struck by cars when crossing streets in crosswalks more often than they are struck when crossing outside of crosswalks.

Curious Fact

Pedestrians are more often struck by cars while in a crosswalk than outside of a crosswalk. (why is that?)

Explanation

When a pedestrian uses a crosswalk, they develop an overly strong sense of security that oncoming cars will honor the signal, so they don't bother to look both ways before crossing.

Evaluate

Sine the author is offering an explanation for a curious fact, we can undermine it in one of two ways:

1. suggest an Alternate Explanation for the curious fact 2. hurt the plausibility of the Author's explanation

It's much more common on Weaken (and Flaw and Nec Assump and Evaluate) to deal with an alternate explanation.

What could be a different way to explain why pedestrians are more often hit while in a crosswalk than outside of a crosswalk?

It might just be that people are way more often using a crosswalk than jaywalking through the middle of the street.

For example, riding in a car is far more safe than riding in a hang glider, but people more often get injured riding in a car, because billions of people ride in cars and only thousands go hang gliding.

Another Alternate Explanation could be that people get hit more frequently in a crosswalk not because the pedestrians are more cocky and cross without looking but because drivers are more reckless and careless around crosswalks (maybe they're checking street signs to see if this is their turn, or they're focused on whether the light is about to turn yellow)

Goal

Look for an answer that suggests a different explanation for why people are more often struck in a crosswalk than outside of one, or for an answer that makes it less plausible that pedestrians get super cocky when they use a crosswalk and are less likely to look both ways.

19.

Which one of the following, if true, most undermines the explanation proposed above?

  1. Correct

    The overwhelming majority of pedestrians

    Why this is right

    This provides the Alternate Explanation that, "the reason people get hit more often in the crosswalks isn't because they're cocky and don't look both ways, it's just because way-way-way more people cross in crosswalks than outside of crosswalks. It might be more dangerous to jaywalk (outside of a crosswalk). You might be more likely to get hit when you jaywalk. Perhaps people get hit 0.5% of the time when they jaywalk and only 0.1% of the time when they use the crosswalk. But since you have 100 people using the crosswalk for every 1 person jaywalking, there will still be a higher raw number of people getting hit in the crosswalk. So people will more often get hit in the crosswalk, even if they're less likely to be hit while using the crosswalk.

    Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    66% picked this

  2. The number of pedestrians struck

    No Impact

    This does nothing to suggest an alternate explanation for why there are more pedestrians hit inside the crosswalk than outside. And it doesn't undermine the plausibility that pedestrians get overly confident while using a crosswalk and don't bother to look both ways.

    1% picked this

  3. Pedestrians tend to underestimate the

    Strengthens

    This boosts the plausibility of the author's explanation that pedestrians get overly confident while using a crosswalk: they don't bother to look both ways / they assume the signals are working fine.

    6% picked this

  4. Drivers are generally most alert

    Strengthens

    This strengthens by ruling out an alternate explanation for why there are more pedestrians hit inside the crosswalk than outside. We might have argued that there are more accidents near crosswalks not because the pedestrians are less safe but because the drivers are less safe near crosswalks. But this answer rules that out and says that drivers are at their most aware near a crosswalk.

    25% picked this

  5. Measures intended to promote safety

    Strengthens

    This boosts the plausibility of the author's explanation that pedestrians get overly confident while using a crosswalk: it explains how a measure intended to promote safety, such as a crosswalk, tends to make people less cautious. So they stop looking both ways before they cross.

    2% picked this

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