The pairing of death and taxes is hardly a new one. Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the most quoted of all Americans, famously wrote in the late 18th century that "In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes." He was neither the first nor the last to grumble about the subject.
Daniel Defoe, author of "Robinson Crusoe" and "Moll Flanders," wrote in 1726 that "Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believed." Margaret Mitchell addressed the topic, in part, in 1936 in "Gone With the Wind" when she penned, "Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them." Those musings, however true, were more opinion than fact. Now there is proof that death and taxes are intricately entwined in a very specific way.
A new study shows that there are more traffic fatalities on tax day than on days precisely a week before and week after the April filing deadline. The survey, reported Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, covered the years between 1980 and 2009. On average, researchers report, there were 226 deaths on tax day, or 13 more than on the non-tax days. Though the reasons aren't clear, death -- on the roads, at least -- and taxes do seem to have a close relationship on that one day if not on others.
More research is required, experts say, to pinpoint exactly why traffic deaths increase on tax day. That's probably true, but anyone who has worried about taxes and wrestled with tax forms can provide an answer to the question without additional study. It is stress.
It is the kind of stress that arises from waiting until the last few days before the deadline to fill out forms. The stress, to be sure, is self imposed. The Internal Revenue Service says that about a fourth of U.S. taxpayers file their returns in the last two weeks before tax day. And stress, we all know, can cause considerable distraction for those affected by the all-too-common condition.
That's a decidedly dangerous condition on the road anytime, but especially if you're sharing it with others racing to or from a tax preparer or to the post office to beat the midnight deadline, all the while worrying if the form is filled out correctly. And don't think that the rising popularity of electronic filing makes the roads safer on tax day. It doesn't. The higher traffic fatality count on tax day has remained constant even as the number of e-filers has soared.
No one is quite sure how to reduce stress or fatalities on tax day. Most drivers can't stay home and those who filed earlier to avoid stress still must share the road with those whose tension levels are high as the deadline looms. The best advice? Drive carefully and defensively, and remember that tax day and the increased danger it brings is April 17 -- not April 15 -- this year.