Daylight Saving Time Ends Sunday: Don't Forget To Fall Back

ST. LOUIS, MO — Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, so don't forget to set your clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night. An extra hour of sleep probably sounds fantastic to many, especially considering less than a third of adults get enough sleep every night, but it comes at a cost. The end of Daylight Saving Time often kicks off seasonal depression as people get used to darkness falling by dinner time. And automobile crashes skyrocket due to drowsy drivers and collisions with deer, which are more active around dusk.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research shows drowsy-driving crashes most frequently occur between midnight and 6 a.m., or in the late-afternoon — both times when there are dips in your circadian rhythm (that's your internal human body clock). About 100,000 police-reported crashes a year are a result of driver fatigue, according to the agency's website.

And if that's not wake-up call enough, consider this: A staggering 103 million people admitted they fell asleep at the wheel in a poll by the National Sleep Foundation, which observes Drowsy Driving Prevention Week during the week following the end of Daylight Saving Time, this year from Nov. 5-12.

Of those surveyed who said they had fallen asleep while driving, 13 percent said it happens regularly about once a month, and 4 percent said they caused a crash when they fell asleep. The poll also showed that 60 percent of adults say they have driven when they were sleepy.

Some other findings:

• Adults 18-29 are more likely drive when they're drowsy compared to other groups (71 percent, vs. 52 percent for drivers 30-64 and 9 percent for drivers 65 and older)
• Men are more likely than women to drive while drowsy, 56 percent to 45 percent, and are almost twice as likely as women to fall asleep while driving, 22 percent versus 12 percent.
• Parents and other adults with children in their households are more likely to drive drowsy than those without children, 59 percent to 45 percent.
• Night shift workers are more likely than their colleagues who work day shifts to be drowsy when they drive to work, 36 percent versus 25 percent.

Most Accidents Occur at Night

The risk of a fatal traffic accident is three times greater at night than during daylight hours, according to the National Safety Council. More animals, sleepy drivers and drunken drivers all play a role, but decreased visibility is the main culprit in increased night-time fatalities, according to the organization.

Some reasons: Depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision can be compromised in the dark, and the glare of headlights from an oncoming vehicle can temporarily blind a driver.

"Think about it: 90 percent of your reaction time depends on your ability to see what's around you," the NSC said on its website. "And since your depth perception, color recognition, and peripheral vision decrease after sundown, your chances for a car accident tend to increase."

Even when they've flipped on their high-beam headlights, drivers can only see about 500 feet (compared to 250 feet for normal headlights) and have less time to react to something in the road, especially at high speeds.

To combat the darkness, the National Safety Council recommends:

• Make sure your headlights are clean and properly aimed.
• Dim your dashboard lights.
• Look away from oncoming lights.
• If you wear glasses, ask your optometrist about anti-reflective lenses.
• Make sure your windshield is clean and free of streaks.
• Slow down to compensate for limited visibility and decreased braking time.

Remember this, too: The evening rush hour is already a dangerous time because roads are crowded and drivers are eager to get home. With dusk coming an hour earlier, be extra patient, stay in your lane and keep an eye out for drivers who are darting in and out of lanes. If you're going somewhere unfamiliar, use an in-dash navigational system or phone app to guide you, or check the map before you go and memorize your route.

Check the exact time the sun sets after falling back from Daylight Saving Time.

Beth Dalbey (Patch National Staff) contributed to this article.

Image via Shutterstock