Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

As noted in my blog last week, "falling back" can be good for your heart, but it can mean death for pedestrians.

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University discovered that pedestrians walking around dusk are three times more likely to be struck and killed by cars after clocks are turned back. They concluded that 37 more American pedestrians die around 6 p.m. in November compared to October. This translates to a 186% increase in pedestrian deaths from October to November. The risk for pedestrian deaths at 6 p.m. is by far the highest in November than any other month. This risk decreases each month through May. Indeed, the risk at 6 p.m. in November, after daylight saving time ends, is eleven times higher than the risk at 6 p.m. in April, when daylight saving begins.

The spike in pedestrian deaths after moving the clocks back is directly related to the end of daylight saving time and earlier darkness, but the researchers claim it's not necessarily the darkness itself, but rather the adjustment to earlier nighttime that is the killer. The drop-off in pedestrian deaths by December suggests the risk to pedestrians is caused by the trouble drivers and pedestrians have adjusting to darkness that suddenly comes an hour earlier.

The researchers noted that the reverse happens in the morning, when daylight comes earlier. Pedestiran risk plummets, but there are fewer walkers then, too.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has concluded that that extending daylight saving time year round could help prevent pedestrian deaths and injuries. According to their research, adding an hour of light to the afternoon increases the visibility of both vehicles and pedestrians. Researchers estimated that about 900 fatal crashes (727 involving pedestrians and 174 involving vehicle occupants) could have been avoided during 1987-91 if daylight saving time had been in effect throughout the year.