A policy states that bike lanes will reduce traffic accidents by 20%. Which strengthening statement most supports this claim?

• A. If the lanes are well designed and integrated with traffic signals, studies show reductions align with this figure.
• B. The city plans to build more lanes.
• C. Data from other cities with similar demographics show similar reductions.
• D. The lane will be painted green.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is to strengthen a claim by showing evidence that would make the result likely in similar real-world settings. When a policy says bike lanes will reduce traffic accidents by 20%, the strongest support comes from evidence that this level of reductionHas occurred in other places that resemble the target city. Data from other cities with similar demographics showing similar reductions demonstrates that the effect isn’t unique to one location and can be expected in comparable contexts. This boosts the claim’s credibility by showing transferability of the result.

In contrast, saying the lanes are well designed and integrated with traffic signals would make the expected reduction seem conditional on specific design features, which weakens the claim’s applicability to broader or different contexts. Planning to build more lanes is about a future action, not the observed impact. Painting the lane green doesn’t connect to accident outcomes at all.