Statistical stupidity – part 1

I had the misfortune to listen to the ‘news’ on a commercial radio station today. Among the fascinating (yes, I am being ironic) stories was one stating that ‘twice as many people put the wrong type of fuel in their cars as 10 years ago’. What struck me about this statement was the lack of any context about these figures. This set me thinking about possible ways this figure could have been reached. The most obvious one I could think of is that the number of cars on the road is double what it was 10 years ago. I don’t know if this is true; it’s surprisingly difficult to find this information on Google. 

Another, and rather more unfortunate, use of statistics faces me each time I drive into Manchester, assuming I haven’t put the wrong fuel into my car of course. I pass a school which boasts that 22% of pupils pass the 5 A*–C GCSE challenge.  There are some figures that just can’t be made to look good.