We’re frequently warned against drunk driving and driving while using the cell phone. We’ve also had to be reminded to turn on the headlights while driving in the dark. So far, though, we seem to have been in the dark about the danger of northern lights and driving. Twice this week, that ignorance came close to causing accidents, RÚV reports.
The first incident happened when the Suðurnes Police stopped a car, which was on its way toward Keflavík International Airport. The driver had trouble keeping the vehicle on the right side of the road, causing the police to suspect him of drunk driving.
The driver turned out not be under the influence of alcohol, but was instead beside himself from watching a celestial beauty. So bewitched was he by the northern lights, dancing above, that he had been unable to take his eyes off them.
The other car the Suðurnes Police stopped this week swerved from one side of the road to the other between Kaffitár café and Njarðvík. That car turned out to be full of tourists, so captivated by the beauty of the northern lights that they were lost in a dream, completely oblivious to the dangers of driving with your head in the clouds.
Police officers advised the drivers to park their cars at a safe place if their intention was to gaze at the sky.
