This weekend the clock will go back an hour and we will switch back to winter time. Statistically, this has a negative effect on road safety, warns the Institute for Road Safety Research.
In the night from Saturday to Sunday at 3:00 the clock goes back one hour. Winter time will then start again. Besides the fact that this can cause some disruption to the rhythm for a few days, it also has a consequence for road safety. This has already become apparent from a study by SWOV. The foundation therefore warns that it will be extra careful on the road from next weekend. The reason is relatively simple; the evening rush hour will take place in the dark from next week and that will take some getting used to for some road users.
According to SWOV, the risk of accidents is greater for most of the winter time than in the summer time, not only immediately after the start of winter time. In the coming months, the average busiest time of the day (although this is currently not too bad due to the corona crisis) will coincide with darkness and danger will arise sooner due to poorer visibility. SWOV has already concluded from the accident figures that the introduction of summer time for the entire year could potentially save many road casualties. After all, the ‘dark evening rush’ is then a much less protracted phenomenon.
According to some, staying on daylight saving time as standard is an interesting option. Although there is something to be said for road safety to make daylight saving time the standard, there are again to name other benefits for sticking to winter time all year round. For the time being, nothing will change in this area, although for a number of years there has been more frequent discussion at European level about a standardization of either.