Over the past few years, there has been a strong positive correlation between the annual consumption of diet soda drinks and the number of traffic accidents. (a) Do you think increasing consumption of diet soda drinks causes traffic accidents? Explain your answer.

No. A strong correlation implies causation.
No. A strong correlation does not imply causation.
Yes. A strong correlation does not imply causation.
Yes. A strong correlation implies causation.

(b) What lurking variables might be causing the increase in one or both of the variables? Explain your answer.