Some people think so.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dmGBqQcdr0&feature=youtu.be
And some not so much
Regardless, here is something to think about
Check out this reply on a Solar Eclipse FAQ site
Will traffic be bad on Aug. 21?
Yes, it could be one of the worst traffic days in U.S. history, some NASA representatives predict. Although about 12 million people live within the narrow band of totality, about 200 million reside within a day’s drive of it. The agency has estimated that the population inside the path of totality may double on the day of the eclipse.
and this from TechRadar
In response to Cell phones
Trouble is, a lot of the best places to watch are small rural towns that are already challenged for bandwidth.
“We are boosting the capacity in some key areas where we think the most people will be gathering for the best views or for the longest duration,” said Mair.
“We don’t know exactly how much traffic there will be, but from NFL championship games we handle 30 or 40 million photos in three or fours hours,” said Mair, who admits that it’s difficult to forecast the eclipse traffic.
Still, AT&T isn’t the only carrier confident it’s prepared to support the influx of posts.
“We believe our networks can handle the additional capacity during the solar eclipse event,” said Karen Schulz, a spokesperson for Verizon.
Predicting bandwidth needs in specific locations isn’t easy. It’s predicted that about up to 7.4 million people will travel into the narrow Path of Totality on August 21, but no one really knows. It all depends on how many people decide to take a trip at the last minute. However, there are clues.
“We identified where the best viewing spots will be using data from NASA, and also local knowledge on where events will be held,” said Mair.
However, there are two places service providers are particularly worried about; Madras, Oregon (population 6,000) and Hopkinsville, Kentucky (population 32,000).
“Due to the very large crowds expected to gather in parts of Oregon and Kentucky, we are planning to deploy a cell on wheels in Bend, and another one near the gates of the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Madras to increase capacity for SolarFest. As well as one in Hopkinsville, Kentucky where we expect exceptionally large crowds,” said Schulz of Verizon. SolarFest is a festival-like gathering taking place August 17-22, centered around the eclipse.
While Hopkinsville is being publicized as the point of greatest eclipse (although it has little benefit – the longest duration is actually in Carbondale, Illinois), Madras is where eclipse-chasers will have the greatest chance of clear skies for totality.
“In Madras, if there’s going to be 150,000-200,000 people, we know the network is not engineered to cope with that, so we have augmented the capacity,” said AT&T’s Mair.
Madras will also host the Lowell Observatory Solar Eclipse Experience 2017. However, AT&T’s priority is Hopkinsville, where it’s already sent a Cell on a Light Truck (COLT) to increase bandwidth by 300%. Over 100,000 people could descend on the town.
It’s the same gear used by its network disaster recovery team after forest fires, flooding, hurricanes and other natural disasters. Technically speaking, AT&T is handling the eclipse as if it was a disaster.
However, even 300% extensions in bandwidth might not be enough to handle sudden population increases, and anyone at a large observing event in a small town or rural area will likely struggle to use their smartphone around totality.
and this in response to the Law Enforcement bolstering in select areas
As eclipse preparations continue to move forward in the Upper Valley, safety remains an important topic.
The ability of local law enforcement to handle large events has never been questioned, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a daunting task ahead of them.
Rexburg Police Department Captain Randy Lewis said that preparation for the Great American Eclipse can be summed up in six words: “train, train, train” and “plan, plan, plan.”
“We have frequent meetings with our law enforcement from across east Idaho,” he said. “We pull up different scenarios and plan out emergencies for things like cellphone outages, setting up fuel stations and other logistics.”
Chief Deputy Thad Garner, of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, said additional law enforcement officers in his area would be on duty during the eclipse weekend.
“Nobody can take a vacation during that time,” he said, adding he’s determined that areas likely to have more people will have stepped up patrols.
Though Fremont County doesn’t have any cities that fall in the line of the totality of the eclipse, there are still plenty of areas tourists are attracted to that could be crowded more than usual on Aug. 21.
“I believe a majority of the people will be out around the sand dunes area,” Garner said. “It will be busy because of the normal stuff there, plus the eclipse visitors.”
Madison County, however, is predicted to bear the brunt of eclipse tourists. The latest estimate city officials have for eclipse visitors in the city of Rexburg is 40,000.
Lewis says that his officers will be prepared for anything.
“We’re still in the process of putting together lists of things that could go wrong,” he said. “Traffic will be one of our biggest concerns in this area. When we have traffic backed up on U.S. Highway 20 and intersections blocked, it takes a lot of people and man hours to make these things work.”
No potential situation is being considered unreasonable. From trespassing to speeding to a terrorist attack, Lewis says that his officers will know what to do. He said he doesn’t want to be pessimistic, but “in our line of business we have to be prepared.”
What we DO know for certain is that there will be people, large groups, gathered in certain areas that are well know, and all at one time. Cellphone service MIGHT be spotty and some agencies don’t know if they will have enough force in case something breaks out. So all of you sheep dogs out there keep your heads on a swivel, because one thing is for certain, nobody knows whats gonna happen today, but it never hurts to be prepared.