Twice a year, people across Kentucky and in most other states in the country move their clocks either forward or backward by one hour in observation of Daylight Savings Time. It is common for this change in time to have an adverse effect on people. You may even notice that it throws off your internal clock or has consequences, such as excessive tiredness.
According to U.S. News and World Report, the effects of Daylight Savings Time could have a more deadly impact when it comes to drivers.
Spring ahead and fall back
The move back one hour in the fall does not seem to be as dangerous as the move ahead one hour in the spring. Studies show that moving the clock ahead one hour not only impacts people due to sleep deprivation and losing that one hour but it also has greater impacts on how drivers adjust to the change.
Dark in the morning
The move forward one hour means that morning commutes are darker. It is a known fact that more accidents occur during dark than during daylight. So, this alone contributes to the issues of Daylight Savings Time.
It also takes drivers time to adjust to the new schedule. In the meantime, drivers spend an average of one week driving when battling tiredness. They are less alert and now driving in the dark, which creates a bad recipe for an increase in accidents.
More accidents
Daylight Savings Time does increase accidents with a projected increase of around 6%. Specifically, this happens the most in the spring due to the loss of an hour with the fall not causing as many issues.