The Doctor Weighs In

Well, we all got an extra hour of sleep last night -- that was a good thing.  And, it will be light in the morning when we wake up.  I found it a bit disturbing recently to have it still be dark at 7 am.  But, there is a reason to be careful out there now that we are back on Standard Time.

It turns out that the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST) is associated with an increase in pedestrian deaths.  Folks walking during the evening rush hour, dusk to dark, are almost three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars compared to before the time change - this is according to an Associated Press report that appeared recently. 

 Pedestrian death rates peak in November, the month after the time change, and then fall off as the year progresses.  The per-mile risk increases 186% from October to November and then drops 21% in December.  "Springing forward" to DST is associated with a 78% drop in 6 pm risk in April.  June and July have the lowest early evening pedestrian death rates.

There is an offset to the increase in evening deaths because 6 am risk drops - presumably related to an AM commute that is now occuring with the morning light.  The 13 lives saved at 6 am, however, do  not offset the 37 additional lives lost at 6 pm.  The lower rate is probably because there are fewer pedestrians out on an early morning walk compared to early evening walkers.

Paul Fischbeck and David Gerard, both of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, believe it is not the darkness itself, but the adjustment to the earlier nightime that causes the problem.   We just plain need to take extra precautions when walking in the dark.  Some things that you can do to increase your safety during evening jaunts include carrying a (lit) flashlight and wearing reflective gear.  I hope this report helps to spur us into taking those extra steps.

Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of Arlington sums up the issue as follows:

Bejnamin Franklin conceived of daylight savings time as a way of saving candles. [Did you know that??]  Today, we know it saves lives.