A distracting full moon may increase the risk of fatal motorcycle crashes, according to new research published in the British Medical Journal.

And Canadians could be more susceptible to the distraction of a large moon, say researchers Dr. Donald Redelmeier at the University of Toronto and Eldar Shafir at Princeton University.

There's a "tiny trend in that direction," Dr. Redelmeier told CTVNews.ca.  The new research tracked Canadian data over 15 years, as well as numbers from the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

Pulling Canadian data on motorcycle deaths between 1999 and 2014, theresearchers found that there was a 12 per cent relative increase in risk associated with a full moon compared to nights without a full moon.

"A short journey on a motorcycle leads to an uncountable number of distractors,such as wildlife, or beautiful vistas, surrounding vehicles, roadway signs," Dr. Redelmeier said.

While some of those distractors may seem to be the more obvious choice for research, the full moon is the easiest of the distractors to measure, said Dr. Redelmeier, who is a motorcycle rider himself and a senior scientist in the trauma, emergency and critical care program at Sunnybrook Research Institute.

"I often look after patients in the aftermath of a life-threatening motorcycle crash. When I ask them what happened, their usual response is 'I don't know,'" he said.

Life-threatening injuries can often cause amnesia, which makes it difficult for researchers to discern what caused crashes. So they looked to the moon in their new research.

The U.S. data was more plentiful and is the basis for the study, which found that about 9.1 motorcyclists died on average at night when there was a full moon, whereas just 8.6 died at night without a full moon. It’s a small difference, but it accounts for 226 more deaths on full-moon nights.

Of the 494 full moons, 65 were "supermoons," where the moon appears larger and brighter than normal. Those nights are possibly deadlier, the research shows, with 10.82 deaths per supermoon night-- two more deaths thanon a night without the moon.

The average U.S. rider was a man of about 32 years of age, riding a street bike without a helmet in a rural location. In Canada, there were far fewer motorcyclists without helmets, as laws are stricter on head protection.

"The U.S. may not be a world leader when it comes to traffic safety," said Dr. Redelmeier, "but they are a world leader in traffic safety data."

While the Canadian data was much thinner, the U.S. research encompasses nearly 40 years from 1975 to 2014.

Dr. Redelmeier notes the research is observational and not meant to suggest a direct cause-and-effect relationship, but it points to the need for increased rider safety. A full moon or supermoon won't just "make the night more beautiful," he said. It's possible that it may encourage riders to drive faster on brightly illuminated roads.

"Increased lighting makes it too easy to drive too quickly," he said, or fall victim to a "moment of inattention."

"Extra care is needed when riding a motorcycle under a full moon. Every one of these crashes could have been entirely prevented with a small change in driver behaviour," he said, noting the research reinforces standard safety measures such as helmets and riding sober.

Dr. Redelmeier said he takes the results of his research seriously.

"The average ride on a motorcycle is more dangerous than a drunk driver with no seatbelt traveling the same distance," he said.

"I spend very little time these days riding a motorcycle."