Total solar eclipse in 2017 drew a brief surge in traffic accidents
There was a significant increase in fatal car crashes in the United States around the time of the 2017 total solar eclipse, a new analysis shows.
The analysis, published as a research letter Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, found a 31% increase in traffic risks around the time of the eclipse, similar to the increase in risk around other holidays like Thanksgiving. In absolute terms, this is an average of 1 extra crash-involved person every 25 minutes and 1 extra crash fatality every 95 minutes.