• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • FFS PRODUCTIONS
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Drivers issued warning as rare blue supermoon is set to light up UK skies tonight

Home> News> UK News> Weather

Published 19:17 19 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Drivers issued warning as rare blue supermoon is set to light up UK skies tonight

There can be deadly consequences on the roads if you're not careful during tonight's supermoon

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

You've surely heard of the saying 'once in a blue moon', well tonight is the night that the blue moon is going to make an appearance.

This is the rare blue supermoon which occurs when we get a full moon when that chunk of rock orbiting our planet is at the closest point to Earth in its orbit.

This is known as 'perigee', the opposite of 'apogee', and true blue moons are incredibly rare.

The last full supermoon we had was on 23 September last year, so you really don't have a lot of opportunities to see these things.

Advert

Hopefully it won't see you standing alone without a dream in your heart or a love of your own, but even more hopefully it won't see you in a car crash.

Beware the moon! (Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Beware the moon! (Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

As ever the advice for witnessing the majesty of the night's sky is to get yourself somewhere with clear skies and a lack of light pollution.

Wrap yourself up warm and bring something to lie down on instead of giving yourself a pain in the neck trying to look at the sky.

However, those of you behind the wheel tonight would do well to heed the warning that the rare blue supermoon brings.

Advert

You might think that driving under the moonlight, the serious moonlight would actually be safer than the darker skies that might come with a lack of lunar assistance, but studies into night-time crashes indicate that the roads are more dangerous when the moon looms large in the sky.

A study from the British Medical Journal indicated that crashes on the roads, especially among motorcyclists, go up during a full moon.

The light of the supermoon could be dangerous for drivers, particularly motorcyclists. (Getty Stock Photo)
The light of the supermoon could be dangerous for drivers, particularly motorcyclists. (Getty Stock Photo)

A supermoon can be up to 30 percent brighter than a regular moon and that bright light in the night's sky could end up being a fatal distraction for drivers.

A team of experts went through motorcycle fatalities in the US between 4pm and 8am for a 40 year period and found that the full moon was slightly more dangerous, while a supermoon in the sky upped the danger by 22 percent.

Advert

Looking at data from other countries, including the UK, shored up this idea that a supermoon can pose a danger to those on the roads.

It could be that the brightness of the moon is distracting, but being aware of the dangers that the supermoon poses on the roads is just part of staying safe.

Here's to an impressive looking supermoon, and hopefully everyone will stay careful on the roads.

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images

Topics: UK News, Driving, Weather

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
4 hours ago
  • The White House
    an hour ago

    White House makes demand to Nobel Foundation after Trump was gifted prize

    He's really upset he didn't get a Nobel prize

    News
  • Instagram/@scotchdolly97
    3 hours ago

    Woman with ‘biggest boobs in UK’ shares daily challenges she faces following rare diagnosis

    The Scot opened up on the problems her R-cup breasts cause on a day-to-day basis

    News
  • BBC
    4 hours ago

    Keir Starmer delivers emergency press conference in response to Trump tariff threats over Greenland

    The prime minister issued a warning over the 'seriousness' of the situation

    News
  • Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images
    4 hours ago

    Bank of England issued warning following potential confirmation of alien life

    The UK must prepare for the worst if the US confirms alien life, says an expert

    News
  • Travel chaos after UK sees 'worst snow for a decade' with rare red weather warning issued
  • Where and when to see the full Cold Supermoon expected to light up the skies tonight
  • How you will be impacted by Storm Goretti as 'danger to life warning' issued amid travel lockdown
  • Severe warning issued as drink-drive limit set to be slashed in England and Wales