Twice each year, with the arrival of spring and fall, Iowa motorists need to be particularly careful when driving at sunrise and sunset.
Gail Weinholzer, with AAA-Iowa, notes today is the day of the autumnal equinox and the sun could be blinding during the morning and afternoon commutes for the next few weeks.
“The days are getting shorter, the darkness is getting longer,” Weinholzer says. “It can definitely affect people as they drive, especially to and from work.” There are no statistics kept in Iowa as to how many crashes occur related to drivers affected by the sun’s blazing light, right in our line of sight. Fall officially arrived at 9:21 this morning.
“The glare of dawn and dusk can be difficult for some drivers to adjust to and it’s important that they do that,” Weinholzer says. “Because the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting longer, it can also have an impact on making us feel more drowsy and we should be aware of that as well.”
While the autumnal equinox marks the first day of fall in Iowa and all across the northern hemisphere, on the other half of the world south of the equator, this is the first day of spring.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)