For centuries, beliefs have persisted that humans may engage in unusual, erratic behaviors during a full moon. Although science has offered little support for such ideas, recent research suggests that there are still potential dangers that may become more prevalent during the brightest phase of Earth’s moon, especially for motorists.
According to findings detailed in a new study by researchers at Texas A&M University, vehicular collisions involving wildlife may increase by almost 46% during a full moon.
The research, led by former Texas A&M student Kentaro Iio and Dr. Dominique Lord, a professor in the university’s Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, examined a decade of data on occurrences of vehicular collisions in Texas. Although there were no significant variances between the number of general vehicular accidents during any phase of the moon, those involving wildlife did appear to rise coinciding with the appearances of the full moon.
Trends Emerge, But No Single Dominant Risk Factor
Examining the differences between new moon and full moon data, Iio began detecting trends that appeared to match previous similar studies from other regions around the world that linked collisions to full moons.
Despite the apparent prevalence of collisions indicated in the data examined, Iio and Lord found no single factor that appears to be driving the correlation, and instead suggest that the rise in accidents may be related to several factors, combining issues like driver fatigue with increased activity by some animal species during these phases of the lunar cycle.
Although the data conveyed an overall rise in vehicular accidents related to wildlife during the full moon, the trend was lower in some areas, such as urban areas around the Texas capital.
“Rural areas tended to have higher collision ratios concerning the full moon than urban areas,” Iio recently said of the team’s findings. Lord added that this may be related to the presence of less wildlife in highly populated urban areas, although another factor could involve city lighting that aids motorists in seeing animals and taking action to avoid collisions, or even light pollution that dilutes lunar illumination in particularly bright city areas.
Future Studies Focused on Full Moon Phenomena
The team’s research did not focus on trends involving specific kinds of wildlife, nor changes that occur in lunar illumination intensity. However, such data could be useful in future studies, allowing results that could offer useful insights into potential dangers associated with more specific factors coinciding with a full moon.
The team’s research may also be useful in helping to determine whether improvements to lighting in rural areas, additional signage and reflectors that provide warnings about wildlife, or even notifications provided to emergency services officials coinciding with a full moon may be warranted going forward.
The new study, “Does wildlife-vehicle collision frequency increase on full moon nights? A case-crossover analysis,” appeared in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment.
Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. He can be reached by email at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow his work at micahhanks.com and on X: @MicahHanks.