A total solar eclipse is set to go on in the U.S. on April 8 , and people are make plans to be in the right place when it happens .

The pure spot is a 100 - mile course stretching from Maine in the northeast all the manner to Texas in the south . Being within this path will permit you to see a fleeting instant that will see daylight diminish and nature ’s noise cease as creatures become fooled by the false gloam .

Another event , according to lately release inquiry , is that there could also be an uptick in traffic accidents . However , it ’s not thought to be due to distracted drivers peering out of their car windows to get a better tone at the eclipse or all of a sudden becoming confused by the dimming sparkle . Rather , the increase in crashes looks like for the most part due to the rising in the volume of traffic as millions of masses make their elbow room toward a hard area of the U.S.

The research , published this week in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine , says there was a notable rise in disastrous car crashes in the U.S. during the last total solar occultation in the U.S. in 2017 , whose path of totality swept from sea-coast to slide .

The datum point to a 31 % gain in dealings safety peril around the metre of the 2017 total solar eclipse . In absolute terms , this average one surplus clash - involved person every 25 minutes and one extra clang human death every 95 minute of arc . The overall relative risks are described as “ similar in magnitude to the increased traffic risks observed around Thanksgiving , Memorial Day , or the July 4 weekend , ” the newspaper said .

Similar to next calendar month ’s eclipse , the one seven years ago created much exhilaration because the path of totality fell within 300 mile of driving length for a third of the country . An estimated 20 million the great unwashed traveled from home to another urban center to view the heavenly event , leading to a lot more automobile on the road than common .

With the extra traffic , the researchers described potential factors for the uptick in clangoring at that sentence as “ jaunt on unfamiliar routes , zip to arrive on time , number one wood misdirection by a uncommon celestial case , drug- or intoxicant - induced impairment from eclipse - related celebrations , and occultation viewing from unsafe roadside emplacement . ”

The next total solar eclipse is within driving orbit for more than 200 million people , and so those jump in a car to make their way to a viewing blot are being advise to “ observe f number point of accumulation , minimize distractions , allow great headway , wear a seatbelt , and nullify driving while afflicted . ” With all that taken care of , be certain to delight the eclipse !