Daylight Savings Can Have a Dark Side for Road Safety
As Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends this year, we’ll all get an extra hour of sleep. But before you get too excited about a little extra snooze time, you should know that the end of DST brings with it potentially dangerous side effects related to road safety.
In this post, we will outline why the morning and evening commutes after a time change are challenging for drivers (and how fleet safety managers can ensure their drivers turn in safe and sound the night before).
Fatigued drivers behind the wheel could be more prone to collisions
While people may sleep an extra hour, it may not change what time they go to bed. They may in fact end up going to bed later than usual, thinking the extra hour will make up the difference, resulting in even less sleep than usual. And that's a dangerous situation. By the time people go back to work, the body may not have adjusted to the new sleep and wake schedule.
That means morning drivers tend to be more fatigued, less alert, and have slower reaction times. And the afternoon or evening commute isn’t much better. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that losing even a couple of hours of sleep can impair drivers to a level similar to being legally drunk. Drowsiness reduces reaction time, clouds judgment, and can turn what might have been a close call into a serious crash.
At the very least, greater fatigue leads to less attentive driving. If traffic is slowing ahead, a fatigued driver is likely to recognize the slowdown late, and it could result in a rear-end collision. A tired driver is also less likely to scan mirrors, increasing the chances of a driver changing lanes without looking or being surprised by the aggressive maneuvers of other drivers.
Earlier darkness affects circadian rhythms
By the time 4 p.m. rolls around, depending on where you are, darkness may have already set in. That means drivers in the thick of the evening commute are driving in the dark. And darkness tells the body, ‘You can rest.’ So again, fatigue increases — and in congested end-of-day traffic where pedestrians, road markings, and potholes are harder to see in the dark, it creates a changing, dangerous situation, especially considering that nearly three out of four pedestrian deaths occur at nighttime and distracted pedestrians are on the rise.
Beware the angle of the sun
The end of DST means drivers heading to work will be on the road an hour earlier, when the sun is positioned lower. That means the sun could be shining directly into your driver’s eyes or the eyes of opposing lane drivers. With more fatigued drivers and potentially visually impaired drivers on the road, it makes for a bad mix.
How can drivers adjust to these challenges?
By remembering three simple S’s:
- Schedule: Encourage them to start their journey a few minutes earlier, so they’re not feeling rushed — about 15 minutes earlier should suffice. When drivers are rushed, they tend to feel anxious and make poor decisions.
- Speed: Encourage drivers to reduce their speed by about 5 to 10 miles per hour. It’s a simple move that gives drivers more reaction time. If your drivers are driving at a slower speed, they’ll have more time to respond and won’t require as much stopping distance.
- Space: Remind drivers to leave extra space between themselves and the vehicle ahead. The extra space provides a greater buffer to protect against collisions in the morning rush hour and gives drivers additional time to safely see, think, and act.
Bonus tips
- To prepare for the time change, drivers could set their alarms a bit earlier on the mornings leading up to the time change. It will make it easier for them to be motivated when their next work day comes around.
- Raise awareness (posters, hand-outs, meetings, etc.) with drivers before and after DST, reviewing personal preparedness and the importance of defensive driving techniques to focus on.
- Consider implementing fatigue detection technology that can help you take action at the earliest signs of fatigue. With Lytx Fatigue Detection, you can capture signals and behaviors of fatigue early on, so you can prevent high-risk incidents before they occur. See how it works:
Book a demo or learn more about fatigue detection here.