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Iceland’s Northern Lights: Beautiful sight, risky drives

By: Egill Bjarnason, The Associated Press Posted: Last Modified:

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AKUREYRI, Iceland - Police in Iceland have a warning for visitors: Beware our roads in the winter.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/01/2019 (2752 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AKUREYRI, Iceland – Police in Iceland have a warning for visitors: Beware our roads in the winter.

Spending a clear winter night under an Arctic sky lit up by spectacular streaks of colour from the Northern Lights is an often-cited “bucket-list” experience that’s among the reasons more people are visiting Iceland.

But police say many foreign visitors lack the experience and expertise to handle Iceland’s wintry road conditions. They are increasingly worried about visitors scanning the sky for the Northern Lights and not looking at the road, which may be icy, twisty, narrow — or all three at once.

FILE - In this March 1, 2017 file photo, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, appear in the sky over Bifrost, Western Iceland. Police in Iceland say tourists are often putting themselves at risk searching for the Northern Lights, whose spectacular streaks of color light up the winter skies at night. Police say sleep-deprived tourists are dividing their attentions between the road and the sky, and often underestimate the challenging conditions posed by Iceland’s twisty, narrow, often-icy roads in the winter. (AP Photo/Rene Rossignaud, File)
FILE - In this March 1, 2017 file photo, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, appear in the sky over Bifrost, Western Iceland. Police in Iceland say tourists are often putting themselves at risk searching for the Northern Lights, whose spectacular streaks of color light up the winter skies at night. Police say sleep-deprived tourists are dividing their attentions between the road and the sky, and often underestimate the challenging conditions posed by Iceland’s twisty, narrow, often-icy roads in the winter. (AP Photo/Rene Rossignaud, File)

Of the 18 people who died in traffic crashes in Iceland in 2018, half of them were foreigners.

Johannes Sigfusson of the Akureyri Police Department says “the weather in Iceland changes every five minutes.”

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 1, 2017 file photo, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, appear in the sky over Bifrost, Western Iceland. Police in Iceland say tourists are often putting themselves at risk searching for the Northern Lights, whose spectacular streaks of color light up the winter skies at night. Police say sleep-deprived tourists are dividing their attentions between the road and the sky, and often underestimate the challenging conditions posed by Iceland’s twisty, narrow, often-icy roads in the winter. (AP Photo/Rene Rossignaud, file)
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 1, 2017 file photo, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, appear in the sky over Bifrost, Western Iceland. Police in Iceland say tourists are often putting themselves at risk searching for the Northern Lights, whose spectacular streaks of color light up the winter skies at night. Police say sleep-deprived tourists are dividing their attentions between the road and the sky, and often underestimate the challenging conditions posed by Iceland’s twisty, narrow, often-icy roads in the winter. (AP Photo/Rene Rossignaud, file)
Gunnlaugur Bjornsson, astrophysicist at the University of Iceland, poses for a photograph on Dec. 22, 2018. Bjornsson is among the local scientists involved in a project studying the aurora borealis, saying much was still unknown about the Northern Lights and the vast system that controlled them. (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason)
Gunnlaugur Bjornsson, astrophysicist at the University of Iceland, poses for a photograph on Dec. 22, 2018. Bjornsson is among the local scientists involved in a project studying the aurora borealis, saying much was still unknown about the Northern Lights and the vast system that controlled them. (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason)

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FILE - In this March 1, 2017 file photo, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, appear in the sky over Bifrost, Western Iceland. Police in Iceland say tourists are often putting themselves at risk searching for the Northern Lights, whose spectacular streaks of color light up the winter skies at night. Police say sleep-deprived tourists are dividing their attentions between the road and the sky, and often underestimate the challenging conditions posed by Iceland’s twisty, narrow, often-icy roads in the winter. (AP Photo/Rene Rossignaud, File)

Iceland's Northern Lights: Beautiful sight, risky drives

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AKUREYRI, Iceland - Police in Iceland have a warning for visitors: Beware our roads in the winter.

Spending a clear winter night under an Arctic sky lit up by spectacular streaks of colour from the Northern Lights is an often-cited "bucket-list" experience that's among the reasons more people are visiting Iceland.

But police say many foreign visitors lack the experience and expertise to handle Iceland's wintry road conditions. They are increasingly worried about visitors scanning the sky for the Northern Lights and not looking at the road, which may be icy, twisty, narrow — or all three at once.

Of the 18 people who died in traffic crashes in Iceland in 2018, half of them were foreigners.

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