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Full moons and particularly "supermoons" have been linked to increased deaths of motorcyclists:
Distracted drivers, like those who text behind the wheel, are a danger to themselves and to others. Even a brief, momentary glance away from the road can result in life-threatening consequences.
Research published Dec. 11 in The BMJ [open, DOI: 10.1136/bmj.j5367] [DX] points toward another potential distraction for motorists: the full moon, gracing the sky with its brightness around 12 times a year, and the dazzling supermoon, which comes into focus around once a year.
The researchers found that on nights illuminated by a full moon, fatal motorcycle accidents increased by 5 percent compared to nights without a full moon. On evenings when the supermoon decorated the sky, this increased to 32 percent. The study included data from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
While this observational data cannot prove any firm conclusions, the researchers warn drivers of the risks of seemingly minor distractions, urging constant attention while driving at all times.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Grishnakh on Wednesday December 13 2017, @03:41PM (1 child)
and the dazzling supermoon, which comes into focus around once a year.
What the hell is this bullshit? There's nothing "dazzling" about the "supermoon", and there's nothing "super" about it. Can anyone actually tell the difference between a "supermoon" and a regular full moon if they're not otherwise aware of it? No. Niel DeGrasse Tyson was right in his latest Twitter rant: this "supermoon" stuff is bullshit. Humans can't tell the difference when the moon is a mere 10% brighter. We'd barely be able to tell the difference if the "supermoon" was right next to a regular full moon somehow, but there's certainly no way they can tell the difference on different nights, just by memory. The human eye isn't that accurate.
And then this:
On evenings when the supermoon decorated the sky, this increased to 32 percent.
This just proves the problem is that motorcyclists go out more on these nights because of news reports about a so-called "supermoon", and with more of them on the road at night, more of them are involved in crashes.
This study's conclusions are total bullshit.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday December 14 2017, @04:00PM
How in the hell is this "offtopic"? The study itself is wrong, as I proved; this couldn't be more on-topic.