Daylight saving ends: Safety tips for traveling in the dark

This weekend, most of the country’s clocks “fall back” as daylight saving time ends and clocks return to standard time.  

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, (NHTSA) the end of daylight saving time means that more people will be driving home in the dark and extra caution is required.

As you continue to adjust to the time change this week, keep in mind these driving safety tips from AAA:

• Watch for pedestrians when backing up in parking lots or driveways. The darker evening hours can make these individuals harder to see!  
• Always yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and never pass a vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk.
• Turn on your headlights to make yourself more visible.
• Increase your following distance, especially if you are traveling into the sun. Those bright rays can make it hard to see what the car ahead of you is doing!
• Make sure you can see through your windshield, windows and mirrors and your car is able to defrost your windshield during these cooler months.

Pedestrians, there are steps that you can take to help yourself stay safe if you walk at night:

• When available, use the crosswalks and never cross the street when a car is approaching.
• Look left, then right, then left again before crossing — even at crosswalks.
• Stay focused on the road ahead, don’t walk distracted.  Put that phone away until you reach your destination.
• Be on the lookout for cars — especially distracted drivers.
• Be bright at night! Bring a flashlight and wear reflective gear so that drivers will be able to see you.  Avoid wearing darker colors.

Following these steps could make traveling easier and safer.  There are possibilities that you could be driving when the sun is on the horizon, check out this blog for some tips on how to drive in those conditions.