The increased traffic and spectacle of the total solar eclipse on Monday could imperil motorists, with researchers warning that fatal collisions increased during previous eclipses and law enforcement bracing for the event.
There was a 31% increase in fatal traffic accidents during the 2017 total eclipse – and even in the days before and after the astrological event – according to a letter published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal this week.
The surge in accidents wasn't linked to the moments of darkness when the moon obscured the sun – surprisingly, "we see a significant decrease during the single hour that involves the eclipse," co-author Dr. Donald Redelmeier wrote. The problem is the surrounding hours, when people are traveling to their place of observation and especially afterwards," Redelmeier, the University of Toronto professor of medicine, told Live Science.