People who skipped their COVID vaccine are at higher risk of traffic accidents, according to a new study

If you did not get the COVID vaccine, you may be far more likely to be involved in a car accident. Or at least those are the findings of a new study published this month in The American Journal of Medicine.

During the summer of 2021, Canadian researchers analyzed the encrypted government-held records of more than 11 million persons, 16% of whom hadn’t taken the COVID vaccine.

They found that the unvaccinated people were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash—in which at least one person was sent to the hospital—than those who were vaccinated.

That’s similar to the increased risk of car crashes for those with sleep apnea, though only about half that of people who abuse alcohol, researchers discovered.

The additional risk of car crash caused by unvaccinated drivers “exceeds the safety gains from recent automobile engineering developments and also imposes dangers on other road users,” the scientists said.

A. Instead, the authors hypothesize that persons who refuse public health advice may also “ignore basic road safety norms.”

Why would they ignore the regulations of the road? Distrust of the government, a belief in freedom, misperception about daily threats, “confidence in natural protection,” “antipathy toward regulation,” poverty, disinformation, a lack of resources, and personal convictions are plausible causes offered by the writers.

The findings are strong enough that primary care physicians should consider counselling unvaccinated patients on traffic safety, and insurance companies may adjust their coverage based on vaccination data, the authors propose.

First responders should take care to protect themselves against COVID when reacting to traffic accidents, according to the authors, because unvaccinated drivers are more likely than vaccinated drivers.

“The findings suggest that unvaccinated individuals should be cautious around other people and outside with traffic,” the investigators stated.

This isn’t the first time experts have looked into the relationship between behavior and vaccination status.

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Bio economics discovered a link between self-reported unsafe driving and skipping their flu vaccine among young individuals. It looked at over 100,000 Canadians’ survey responses.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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