Car crashes are more common during a full moon with men particularly vulnerable to the ‘werewolf effect’, research reveals

CAR crashes are more common during a full moon, research reveals.

It shows prangs are up to five per cent more likely when the lunar cycle is at its dazzling best.

Men are particularly vulnerable to the “werewolf effect”, according to a study of almost 850,000 accidents.

Scientists claim they may be more easily distracted than female drivers – or simply more interested in the spectacle.

An optical illusion while driving could also raise the chance of a crash.

The researchers said: “A full moon intensifies the lighting around landscapes which might cause drivers to misjudge distances and speeds.”

In extreme cases, the excitement of a spectacular full moon can put so much strain on the heart that it triggers a heart attack behind the wheel.

The study of five years of ambulance records from across Japan found crashes were four per cent more likely overall during a full moon.

But in men and those aged over 40, the risk was five per cent higher - with the period before midnight the most dangerous.

A full moon occurs every 29.53 days – or 12.37 times a year – and the next one is on Saturday May 18.

AA boss Edmund King warned Brit drivers to take the risk seriously.

He said: “If you are on a boring stretch of motorway and you are a bit tired because you’ve had a long day and the man on the moon appears from nowhere and you look up for a couple of seconds and the car in front of you slows down, there could be something in it.”

Advising motorists to take extra care on Saturday, May 18, the AA president said: “Motorists should expect the unexpected.

“And if the unexpected is a full moon, they should fully concentrate on the road ahead and not be star or moon-gazing.”

A&Es should also be prepared to be extra busy next weekend, researchers claim.

Around 200,000 people a year end up in English casualty wards after crashes – with around 1,800 dying on Britain’s roads annually.

Writing in the journal Science of the Total Environment, lead researcher Daisuke Onozuka, from Kyushu University in Japan, said: “While momentary distractions are not easy to prevent, awareness of potential distractions by drivers may reduce the incidence of road traffic accidents.”

It is not just humans affected by lunar cycles.

A U.S. study found cats and dogs are more likely to suffer injuries during a full moon.

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