David Biderman
With Daylight Savings Time (DST) ending this coming weekend (November 1, turn the clock back one hour), it will be getting dark an hour earlier. This means in much of the United States, sunset will be around 5pm or earlier during most of November and December. After months of sunlight in the evening, we will making our way home from work in a car, on mass transit, on foot, or on a bicycle, in the dark.
Not surprisingly, studies show that the end of DST correlates with an increase in collisions involving cars and trucks. According to data analyzed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), fatal pedestrian and bicyclist crashes increase 13% to 19% after the fall time change because evening commutes happen in the dark. There is also a 16% increase in vehicle collisions with deer in the first week after clocks fall back, as animal movement overlaps with darker driving conditions.
A few years ago, I participated in a New York City “Dusk to Darkness” event near City Hall where City officials and I reminded New Yorkers that the impending time change results in increased dangers to pedestrians and other road users. This annual campaign serves as a timely way to r...