Drivers cautioned about time change and the road
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Drivers are being reminded that with the Nov. 1, time change upon us they need to exercise caution until their body adjusts to the change.
The end of daylight savings time brings with it changes in our sleep patterns and in our daily commutes. The clock says we gain an extra hour of sleep on Monday morning, but our bodies don’t feel it. We also gain an extra hour of darkness at the end of the day, and that requires us to be more alert during our commute home.
“Both of these things affect our ability to be safe drivers, pedestrians and cyclists,” says BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation’s executive director, Allan Lamb. “The first work day of the time change people are generally groggier and with the darker afternoons at the end of the day, it can be a dangerous combination.”
Time changes reflect a change in social clocks not biological ones, and studies are showing that we don’t actually adjust to these time changes so easily. Our circadian rhythms (body clocks) are not good at adjusting to the time change naturally.
A groggy driver is a dangerous driver. Fatigue can impair the brain functions as much as alcohol, reducing the mind and body’s ability to respond quickly and accurately in emergency situations.
Sleep related collisions are very common and range from hitting a pedestrian in an intersection, to rear-ending the vehicle in front or you, to veering off of the road and hitting a parked car or a telephone pole.
“Multi-tasking only increases the possibility of driver error and a possible crash,” adds Lamb who suggests that now is a good time to start the practice of not using your cell phone or checking your e-mails until you get to where you are going, in light of the anticipated legislation banning the use of hand-held electronic devices while driving. Forming new habits now will make the transition much smoother when the legislation is official.
Various studies indicate that the lack of daylight during the evening commute home often results in an increased number of traffic related deaths and serious injuries. According to the 2007 BC Traffic Collision Statistics report most injury collisions happen between the 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Of all the contributing factors assigned to collisions during 2007, 79.2 per cent involved human action or condition. Driver inattentive (34.3 per cent), driver error/confusion (20.6 per cent), and speed (19.9 per cent) were three of the most common factors.
This fall get enough sleep, don’t rely on caffeine or other substances to “wake you up”, and practice caution during your commute to and from work.
v2
