There is credible scientific evidence linking lunar cycles and antisocial behaviour, according to a leading road safety researcher.
Clive Matthew-Wilson, who edits the car buyer’s Dog & Lemon Guide, said today:
“I’m not saying you can blame car accidents and crime solely on the full moon. I am saying that numerous scientific studies have shown a clear link between lunar cycles and alcohol consumption, road accidents, and crime.”
“However,” he added: “numerous scientific studies have also shown that there’s no link at all between lunar cycles and behaviour. Personally I keep an open mind.”
The evidence on both sides is compelling: scientists at Georgia State University studied 694 volunteers and noted an average 26% increase in alcohol intake at the full moon.
Research by British insurance company Churchill Insurance Group showed that car accidents occur 14 percent more often on average during a full moon.
However, a major recent Austrian study concluded that there is no link whatsoever between accidents and the full moon.
Matthew-Wilson does not try to explain the apparent contradiction between studies.
“It’s a bit like the debate over whether cholesterol causes heart attacks: there’s highly credible research suggesting it does and highly credible research suggesting it doesn’t. In the end, only time will tell which side is right.”
“In the meantime, we shouldn’t blindly reject scientific studies merely because they don’t fit our view of how the universe works.”
However, added Matthew-Wilson, there is no scientific evidence that it’s less safe to drive on Friday the 13th. “That idea is really just blind superstition”, he said.
