Early Sunday morning, Daylight Saving Time ends and everyone turns their clocks back one hour.
The good news is you get an extra hour sleep, but the change can be bad news for motorists.
“While many will enjoy an extra hour of sleep this weekend, few commuters and motorists realize the added dangers that come as the result of a time change, especially when they are behind the wheel,” said AAA Mid-Atlantc Spokesman Ken Grant.
AAA Mid-Atlantic and the Mid-Atlantic Foundation for Safety and Education warn motorists to be prepared for sun glare during their Monday morning commute and for reduced visibility on the road during their Monday evening commute.
Grant adds changing conditions are not the only issue.
“This one hour shift in time during the fall not only creates darker driving conditions, it can also disturb sleep patterns, perhaps also resulting in drowsy driving episodes,” said Grant.
Drivers who miss between one to two hours of the recommended seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period nearly double their risk for a crash, according to a December 2016 report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Sleep-deprived drivers cause more than 6,400 deaths and 50,000 debilitating injuries on American roadways each year, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
