AAA warns of driving dangers as daylight saving time ends
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Research from the American Automobile Association, or AAA, shows that one in five road fatalities is caused by drowsy driving.
Though the common misconception is that people get more sleep when daylight saving time ends, officials with AAA say the shift in sleep patterns during this time of year actually increases the risk of drivers falling asleep behind the wheel.
"This is the paradox: even when we end up getting an extra hour of sleep, we typically don’t," says Skylar McKinley, director of public relations and at AAA Colorado.
Research by AAA shows sleep-deprived drivers cause more than 50,000 injuries and 6,000 deaths per year. Half of those drivers showed no symptoms before falling asleep behind the wheel.
It doesn't take a lot to to become sleep-deprived, either.
Data from the AAA foundation for Traffic Safety shows missing just one to two hours of sleep in 24 hours nearly doubles your crash risk. In addition, three in ten Americans admitted to driving when they were too tired to keep their eyes open at least once in the past month.
Driving becomes more dangerous when daylight saving time ends because 5 p.m. will look a lot more like 6 p.m. -- lighting during the evening will be a challenge, especially for 9 to 5 commuters.
“Driving at night is more dangerous than driving during the day," says McKinley. "Especially because your eyes are having to constantly adjust to changing lighting.”
McKinley says you may come in contact with some unexpected road hazards, too.
“[It] puts us on the road at the same time as animals who are migrating, or are starting hibernation patterns. We really see a huge increase in animal collisions,” McKinley said.
So how you can protect yourself on the roads after clocks fall back? AAA says proactive driving helps, but each driver needs to be responsible for getting some Zs.
"It really is as simple as getting seven hours of sleep," says McKinley. "If you’re not, it’s as dangerous as driving drunk."
