Everyone now knows that on April 8, there will be a total solar eclipse. Yet, researchers are warning of the possible dangers that eclipses pose to people who drive.

Based on what we learned from the 2017 total solar eclipse, there are a lot more car accidents that end in death during similar astronomical and astrological events. The University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto did some research that gives us a rough idea of what might happen. They found that there may be a lot more car accidents during the eclipse.

The Study of the Total Eclipse
One of the study’s authors, Dr. Donald Redelmeier, a professor at the University of Toronto, said, “The increased risks likely come from increased traffic, travel on unfamiliar routes, speeding to arrive on time, driver distraction by a celestial event, drug or alcohol impairment, or viewing the eclipse from unsafe roadside locations.” It seems like an eclipse could be responsible for a lot of things, but the numbers don’t lie.

The study looked closely at how traffic changed during the total solar eclipse in 2017 and found a pattern that was not good. Seven hundred and forty-one people died in car accidents during the last eclipse, which is an incredible 10.3 deaths per hour. On the other hand, on control days, there were 7.9 deaths per hour, which is a 31% rise in the number of fatal crashes.

A clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia named Dr. John Staples talked about how important it is to be proactive in order to avoid disasters. “Drivers should follow speed limits, avoid distractions, give other drivers more room, wear seatbelts, and never drive while impaired to help stop another possible rise in traffic deaths.”

What’s Making the Problems? In particular
In spite of what most people think, the rise in fatal crashes isn’t directly linked to the darkness caused by the solar eclipse. “The problem is the surrounding hours when people are traveling to their place of observation and especially afterward,” Dr. Redelmeier said in more detail.2: People are partying and celebrating the eclipse, but they’re not quite themselves. It’s kind of like being on the road on New Year’s Eve.

Redelmeier and Staples carefully went through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System, paying close attention to how the patterns run over time. Crash rates that killed people went up above average before the eclipse, dropped below average during it, and then went through the roof to nearly 50% above average after it was over.

Like during big travel weekends like Thanksgiving and the 4th of July, it is very important to get the word out and keep people informed about the risks. The solar eclipse next week could bring millions of people onto the roads for a variety of reasons. Because of this, people need to be extra careful and follow safety rules.

Redelmeier stressed again how important it is to follow standard safety measures, which summed up the main points of their research. He stressed how important it is to follow speed limits, avoid distractions while driving, use your turn signals (for BMW drivers, this is something you do all the time), change lanes, and most importantly, wear your seatbelt.

Eclipse of the Sun over the Car
Everyone who drives needs to remember what they learned from the last eclipse. Please plan to be extra careful while driving, get rid of any things that might distract you, and follow all the rules for road safety. It is possible to keep tragedy to a minimum so that the solar eclipse is just a show to marvel at from above, not one to be shocked by from below.

Let’s be careful on the roads and make sure that the beauty of the sky doesn’t (solar) overpower the need to protect innocent lives. There will be another eclipse of the sun, but no more life if it crashes.