The Latest Research of the Interdisciplinary Team of Professor Qin Xin from Our School Was Published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), A Top International Medical Journal

Recently, the latest research of the interdisciplinary team of Professor Qin Xin from our school “Association of high profile football matches in Europe with traffic accidents in Asia: archival study” was published as long article research paper in the top international medical journal "British Medical Journal" (BMJ). The research found for the first time that there is a significant positive association between the eye-catching high-profile football matches in Europe and traffic accidents in Asia, which has very important policy implications for traffic control and the broadcasting of sports events in Asia. The School of Business, Sun Yat-sen University is the independent communication unit of the research. The research collaborators also include Associate Professor Kai Chi Yam from the National University of Singapore Business School, doctoral candidate Joshua Conrad Jackson from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, doctoral candidate Jenson Lau from Temple University, Professor Christopher M. Barnes from the Foster School of Business, University of Washington, and Associate Professor Juin-Kuan Chong from the National University of Singapore Business School.

The research is based on the hypothesis of sleep deprivation, which has examined the relationship between the eye-catching high-profile football matches in Europe and traffic accidents in Asia. By analyzing data from 41,538 taxi-related traffic accidents in Singapore, 1,814,320 traffic accidents in Taiwan, and 12,788 European football matches in 7 years, after controlling many factors such as weather conditions, time factors (seasons, mid-week/weekend, etc.), and driver demographics, etc., the research found that there is a significant positive association between the eye-catching high-profile football matches in Europe and traffic accidents in Asia. That is, during the high-profile football matches held in Europe, traffic accidents in Asia have increased significantly. At the same time, the research also found a stronger association between high-profile football matches and traffic accidents during the day (vs. nighttime), indicating that the above association could not be explained by celebrations after night games.

The research model can help calculate the social and economic costs of high-profile European football matches for Asian car drivers. For example, on a given day, every time the market profile of both teams in a European football match increases by 7.99 million Euros, there will be an additional traffic accident in Taiwan. Every year, European football matches cause 41,079 additional traffic accidents to Taiwan. It is worth pointing out that the above estimates of social and economic impacts are conservative, because the GMT+8 time zone is the most densely populated time zone in the world (about 1.7 billion people, accounting for 24% of the world’s population), while the populations of Singapore and Taiwan analyzed in the research are less than 1.73% of that time zone.

This research findings have very important policy implications for traffic control and the broadcasting of sports events in Asia. First, the governing associations/leagues of sports (especially football) may consider more strategic arrangements for eye-catching high-profile matches. Second, during the high-profile football games in Europe, the Asian region may strengthen traffic control (for example, more traffic patrols; or even a total ban on using all video devices for drivers), which in turn could help reduce injuries and economic impact associated with traffic accidents. Furthermore, for individuals, the research team strongly urges "Don't stay up late to watch football and drive."