Cellular telephones and motor‐vehicle collisions: Some variations on matched‐pairs analysis

We describe the analysis of some matched-pair binary data arising from a study designed to investigate whether cellular-telephone use is associated with motor-vehicle collisions. Conditional and random effects approaches to the problem are derived and compared. Driving intermittency is a potential confounder whose effect is assessed by strategic choices of the control period and by application of the bootstrap. The marked discrepancy between the conditional and random approaches merits further study. Cet article decrit l'analyse de quelques donnees binaires de paires assorties survenant lors d'une etude visant a determiner si l'usage du telephone cellulaire est associe aux collisions de vehicules motorises. Des approaches d'effects conditionnes et aletoires au probleme sont derivees et comparees. L'intermittence de la conduite est un element potentiellement confondant, dont l'effect est evalue par des choix strategiques de la periode de contrǒle et par l'application du bootstrap. La difference marquee entre l'approche conditionnelle et l'approche aleatoire merite d'ětre etudiee plus profondement.