by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:02 AM ET, Tue January 15, 2019
Authorities in Iceland are complaining that tourists visiting to see the Northern Lights are putting themselves and locals at risk with their subpar driving on the country's wintry roads.
According to Sky News, Icelandic police say the belief is that travelers are paying more attention to the aurora borealis than to the rural roads that have been described as icy, twisty and narrow.
Officials are issuing warnings to visitors about the weather in Iceland changing quickly, something they may not be accustomed to where they live. The roads can go from being dry to covered with ice in a matter of minutes.
"Weather and road conditions are one thing but it also comes down to very problematic behavior with some tourist drivers," Akureyri Police Superintendent Johannes Sigfusson told Sky News. "Like when hitting the brake on the middle of a road for a sudden photo opportunity, with little or no warning for following drivers. In the dark, when the Northern Lights are out, this is an even greater hazard.
In total, 18 people died in traffic crashes in Iceland last year, with half of them registered as foreign nationals, including two British women and a baby girl who died last month.
"The days are very short during winter and so I have been driving in pitch black darkness for the most part for the past few days," a tourist from Singapore named Jeremy Tan told Sky News. "And the roads are very narrow. Sometimes we get very strong winds. It is something that I am not quite used to coming from a small city."
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