Surge in traffic fatalities possible during upcoming solar eclipse, UBC researchers warn
CTV
B.C. researchers are warning drivers in eastern Canada to take extra caution on the road during the upcoming total solar eclipse, as data from the 2017 event showed a surge in fatal incidents.
B.C. researchers are warning drivers in eastern Canada to take extra caution on the road during the upcoming total solar eclipse, as data from the 2017 event showed a surge in fatal incidents.
The research, which was a joint effort between the University of British Columbia and University of Toronto, looked at traffic risks from the last total solar eclipse. Data from around the time of that event showed there were 46 traffic-related extra deaths in the U.S. Those findings were published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Donald Redelmeier, with the University of Toronto, said in a statement the increased risks "likely derive from increased traffic, travel on unfamiliar routes, speeding to arrive on time, driver distraction by a celestial event, drug or alcohol impairment, or eclipse viewing from unsafe roadside locations."
Researchers explained that, over the three-day eclipse exposure period, 741 people were involved in fatal crashes, which equals 10.3 per hour. Over six control days, 1,137 people were in fatal crashes, which equals 7.9 per hour. Researchers said that amounted to a 31 per cent increase in fatal crash involvement.
"To help prevent another possible surge in traffic fatalities, drivers should respect speed limits, minimize distractions, allow more headway, wear a seatbelt and never drive impaired," John Staples, with UBC, said in a statement.
The next total eclipse is coming up on April 8 and will pass through parts of Canada, the United States and Mexico. The total eclipse won't be visible in B.C., however, as it's expected to enter Canada in southern Ontario before continuing through Quebec, New Brunswick, PEI and Cape Breton. But on the West Coast, a partial solar eclipse may be visible, with about a quarter of the sun covered by the moon.
Toronto could see the first taste of winter weather this morning as a low-pressure system brings snow to the city on Wednesday morning.
Montreal's transit authority failed to properly consult with the public over its 'indefensible' plan to force an elderly couple out of their home to build a new ventilation station in Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie, a commission was told Tuesday evening.
In the oldest Chinatown in the entire country sits Loy Sing, a business that holds the title of longest continually run Chinese business in North America. It has now been in operation for 136 years and counting.
The Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan is recommending that the province improve its system of monitoring sales of farmland to foreign entities.
With seven months under their belt, Gather Local Market at River Landing continues to try new ideas to move their concept forward. The latest addition is helping small businesses get off the ground.
A Quebec man has been sentenced to prison after attempting to smuggle more than 1,000 forged documents into the country, including Canadian permanent resident cards and driver's licences.
An outspoken former Calgary bishop who was outspoken on several issues such as LGBTQ policy and school HPV vaccinations has died.
Revelations about a cheeky comment during a dinner meeting at president-elect Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort between Trump and Prime Justin Minister Trudeau last week are creating waves.
The Waterloo Regional Police Service has issued a public plea after three youths fell through the ice at a Cambridge pond.
A man was severely injured Tuesday morning when he leaped onto a polar bear to protect his wife from being mauled in the Far North community of Fort Severn.
Quebec's health minister has tabled a bill that would force new doctors trained in the province to spend the first five years of their careers working in Quebec's public health network.