Science / Medicine : Lefties Have More Accidents

Left-handed people appear to be more accident-prone than right-handers and are nearly twice as likely to suffer accident-related injuries, a new study showed last week. A survey of 1,896 Canadian college students found that 52% of lefties suffered at least one accidental injury requiring medical attention during the last two years compared with 36% of right-handers.

Reporting in the American Journal of Public Health, Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia said he found the overall risk of accidental injury is nearly twice as great among left-handed people as those who prefer their right hand.

The biggest problem appears to be on the highways. Lefties reported nearly twice as many injuries while driving as their right-handed counterparts. The situation appears even worse when women are excluded from the statistics--left-handed men suffered nearly 2 1/2 times more traffic injuries than right-handers.

The researcher said the most likely reason for left-handers’ great injury risk is that society is generally designed for right-handers.