Is Daylight Savings Time a Life Saver?

“Is Daylight Savings Time a life saver? Is switching back to Standard Time killing us?” Those are two pertinent questions that a recent blog in Motor Mouth asks.

Chief Constable of England’s West Yorkshire police, Keith Hellawell, and SmartWitness, a British motor safety company, believes that if we stop toying around with the time, we can save lives. They believe that, if the relationship between the end of daylight savings time and car accidents is not causative, it is at least correlative. Here’s why:

More than 1,200 children have died as the result of car-pedestrian accidents in the past 10 years according to research conducted by Hellawell. The peak time for pedestrian casualties is just after 4 p.m. on weekdays, a time when children are coming home from school.

More importantly, SmartWitness’ research reveals that the highest rate of vehicle usage is during July, August and September, which coincides with the beginning of the school year. However, the casualty rates are higher during October, November and December – a time when it gets darker much earlier. Even more telling is that the number of accidents involving all pedestrians is much higher — 37 per cent higher — in the evening than it is in the morning.

The implication of their research is that when Daylight Saving Time ends, children end up walking home in the dark, making them more vulnerable to being hit by a vehicle. “When the clocks go back at the end of October, most schoolchildren are making their way home in the dark, and this contributes to a great number of casualties on the roads,” Hellawell said.

One would think that the trend would continue into the winter months. Quite the contrary. In January and February, they saw that the number of fatalities were reduced, perhaps because people were not walking as much and were driving a car or taking the bus instead in order to keep warm.

The article also cites a 2007 study by the Carnegie Mellon University, which showed pedestrians were three times more likely to get hit by a car after daylight saving time ends than just before the switch. Similarly, researchers also discovered most fatal accidents occurred at night. Moreover, they found that pedestrian accidents were reduced when the clocks sprung forward again in spring.

To explain this phenomenon, researchers allege that children are less alert in the evening, either because they are tired or playing. Adults are also often more tired in the evening than in the morning. Whereas the morning is often filled with sunlight, light quickly dims in the afternoon during the autumn. According to GEM, a road safety charity, three times more children are injured on the way home from school than on the way to school.

A key takeaway from the studies is that the end of daylight savings time affects pedestrians more than drivers. Britain’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) says, “the effects of darkness are found to be greater for pedestrians than for vehicle occupants.”

This means that just because clocks fall back in the fall doesn’t mean you should fall behind in your vigilance. Darker evenings mean that drivers must be more alert than ever. Being aware and attentive while driving is essential regardless of any time change. This goes for both drivers and pedestrians in order to avoid personal injuries. If you are involved in an accident, consult with an accident lawyer to understand your rights and to determine if you have a case.