Equinox Traffic Alert

If your local roads are laid out on a strict north-south-east-west grid, be especially careful this week while driving at sunset and sunrise because the sun can be directly in your eyes. Today it sets due West, whereas during spring and summer it sets in the northwest and during fall and winter in the southwest. Driving at sunset around the spring equinox, my mother once hit an illegally parked car that she never saw because the setting sun was shining straight down her lane.

In downtown Chicago, you get spectacular effects at sunset today with the sun shining straight down the canyon-like east-west streets, and even shining through underpasses. Commuters leaving the loop toward the west at around sunset (typically 6:43 pm on the equinox during daylight savings time) face terrible traffic jams as drivers are blinded by the sun being directly in their eyes.

My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer