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Motorcyclist mortality and full moons

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TexasShadow

TexasShadow

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Interesting........ ;-)

"Conclusion. The full moon is associated with an increased risk of fatal motorcycle crashes, although potential confounders cannot be excluded. An awareness of the risk might encourage motorcyclists to ride with extra care during a full moon and, more generally, to appreciate the power of seemingly minor distractions at all times."

http://www.bmj.com/content/359/bmj.j5367
 
Interesting. In retail we always dread Full Moon nights because it brings out even more than the normal amount of nut cases.

When I do a planned LD ride, I do try to plan it on a full moon night so as to give me a little better visibility of the night time critters.
 
Increased wildlife nocturnal activity is also associated during full moons.
However, correlation does not always equal causation. :)
 
Stay off the roads for the first night of '18.

"The Wolf Moon on the night between 1 and 2 January 2018 is a Supermoon."

:eek2:
 
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I've noticed the phenomenal difference in the number of roadkills around the time of a full to 3/4 moon, and it does make me reticent to ride at night during those phases. Since almost all of Texas is deer country, night riding comes with a higher risk. And when one considers that deer are not the only species capable of wreaking havoc on a motorcycle that ups the ante even more. Hogs, dogs, and even an armadillo can be problems.
I hit a deer in the middle of an afternoon between Zephyr and Priddy riding a BMW R1100RS and only suffered a chunk broken out of the plastic fender. Had to shoot the deer, as evidently I broke it's spine and burst the abdominal sac; it was paralyzed and dying. As far as I could reconstruct what happened, it fell on the pavement and by sheer luck I ran over the abdomen between the ribs and the hips, breaking the spine.
Most motorcyclists don't get off that easy in that type of situation, and I shudder to think of hitting a pig or a cow on a dark night in the middle of nowhere.
 
Many more species are primarily crepuscular -active during dawn and dusk- than truly nocturnal. That includes deer, skunks, coyotes, rabbits, and most cats. They are not strictly nocturnal, like bats and most owls.

Several factors determine this. The predominant limitation is anatomical: the eyes (cones and rods in their eyes). Humans are anatomically diurnal. We need artificial light; our sight is very poor in the dark. Another important factor is the predator-prey relationship. Predators are active when their prey is active. Many animals have evolved physically to supplement or augment their hearing. The barn owl and bats are perfect examples, and that enables them to be nocturnal.

The lines blur when the quantity and quality of light from the moon allows them to see enough to be active. Even those species which are typically nocturnal, such as most owls who cannot see during the day, are active during the full moon.

Thus, during a full moon, all the rules are thrown out and the game is afoot.
 
"The lunatic is on the grass
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs
Got to keep the loonies on the path"

so the solution is keeping the loonies on the path, should be simple enough!

[ame="https://youtu.be/pnExahMPPFI"]Pink Floyd - Brain Damage - YouTube[/ame]
 
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