December 2009 LSAT Section 1 Question 10

Columnist: The failure of bicyclists to obey traffic regulations is a causal factor in more than one quarter of the ...

mamie on November 21, 2019

Answer choice B

Would you possibly please provide an explanation as to why the answer can not be B? I had it narrowed down to B and C but thought that just because bikes were correlated, it does not imply causation. Thanks!

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Irina on November 21, 2019

@mamie,

This argument implies that there is a true casual relationship between (a) bikers failing to obey traffic laws and accidents and (b) bikers not using proper safety equipment and accident. The fact that the columnist cites both as the "factor" in such accidents suggests that these actions did contribute/ cause the accident rather than two variables being merely correlated. (C), on the other hand, is correct because even though something is a factor in an accident, it does not mean that it is the only factor.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Irina on November 21, 2019

Excuse the autocorrect *causal relationship