The Darkest Hour: How Falling Back Puts People on Foot at Risk

Ten years of federal crash data show evening pedestrian deaths rise 3.5 times from October to November.

Each November, Americans get an extra hour of sleep. For many of us, this is a welcome bonus in a busy month, when the leaves start to turn in parts of the country and the air begins to feel crisp and cool. For some, it means the babies and pets awaken earlier, we need to adjust our body rhythms to the new time, and we lament it being darker earlier in the evening. 

But here’s an issue you might not think about each time you change your clocks: When the clocks “fall back,” the evening commute happens in the dark, and pedestrians are suddenly at higher risk for injury or death. The rate of pedestrian deaths after we change the clocks is significantly higher than in the weeks prior.

The numbers don’t lie

How many pedestrians are involved in fatal crashes from 5pm to 6:59pm (i.e. the evening commute time)? The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s crash-reporting system (NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System, or FARS) provides state-by-state and month-by-month data.

And the numbers remain high through the winter. December has the highest number of deaths of any month, and January is close behind. Those three months (November, December, and January) account for 62% of all evening-commute pedestrian deaths in the ten-year dataset. By contrast, pedestrian deaths in the summer months—when it’s still light at 6 p.m.—average about 229 per month, nationally. That means November is about 8x higher than the summer months.

Notably, the increase isn’t limited to some states or regions; 49 of 51 jurisdictions (50 states, plus the District of Columbia) recorded more deaths in November than October. The two exceptions are North Dakota and Vermont, whose numbers are so small that they’re not statistically significant.

There are a few states that have especially dramatic figures:

The South has some of the steepest multipliers, in part because much of the region’s growth is along wide, fast arterial roads with long stretches between crosswalks and patchy sidewalks. But there’s a caveat for the smaller states: The multiplier looks dramatic when a state moves from two deaths to 25, but small totals change a lot from year to year.

How can we account for the increase in deaths?

The obvious culprit is that it’s darker earlier. That’s accurate, but we can find some more specifics when we dig deeper into the data.

What about the states that don’t change their clocks?

Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the other U.S. territories stay on standard time all year. Arizona still sees an increase in winter for pedestrian deaths, though the increase is spread over several months. It roughly doubles from September to October (from 19 to 41), then rises more modestly into November (41 to 65), which is a 1.6x increase, as compared with 3.5x nationally. Puerto Rico increases from 11 to 14. 

Based on this analysis, we can see that darkness in the winter isn’t the only factor. Still, states that observe daylight saving time don’t have gradual darkness—the dark moves a full hour into rush hour overnight on the day we change the clocks. On Saturday, a driver who heads home from work at 5:30 p.m. has daylight. His same drive on Monday is in the dark. Drivers’ habits, speed on familiar roads, and expectations about who’s around don’t change that quickly, even when we’re prepared for it. 

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted a 2025 study that supports this. The Institute investigated fatal crashes in the weeks around each clock change from 2010 to 2019.

Its finding was that fatal crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists increased 13% after the fall change and decreased 24% after the spring change.

Researchers attributed the net effect to changing light conditions. Crashes that involved only vehicle occupants (not pedestrians) did not follow the same pattern. Drivers inside cars are protected by headlights and steel, while pedestrians depend on being visible. 

If you’re interested in a state-by-state breakdown to see the impact in your state, here’s a full list of the data:

Other factors that contribute to pedestrian deaths

Some of these factors are directly related to darkness and others more indirectly, but they all play a role in raising risk for pedestrians during standard time:

• Sharp drop in visibility. A pedestrian wearing dark clothes can be nearly invisible at the distance a driver would need in order to stop when traveling at 45 miles per hour. Research has shown that drivers consistently overestimate how visible people on foot are and their ability to recognize pedestrians at night. 
• Dusk glare. During the weeks around the time change, the sun sets low and directly into drivers’ eyes on east-west roads at the busiest time of day. 
• Larger vehicles. In 2025, 50.4% of pedestrian deaths involved SUVs or pickup trucks. The taller fronts of these vehicles cause more serious injuries and can make it more difficult for the driver to see a person close in front of them. 
• Missing infrastructure. The Governors’ Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reports that 62.2% of pedestrian deaths happened when there was no sidewalk. 
• Holiday season. November and December bring more traffic, more shopping trips, and more alcohol-related driving.

Overall, more than three-quarters of pedestrian deaths with known lighting conditions happen after dark; the fall clock change sends the largest number of people into that darkness at once.

Why do we change the clocks, anyway?

If this is so dangerous, why do we do it? 

The U.S. first adopted daylight saving time in 1918 under the Standard Time Act as a World War I measure meant to save fuel. It was unpopular and was repealed the following year, but it was then brought back as year-round “War Time” during World War II. The Uniform Act of 1966 ended the local patchwork and set national dates, while allowing states to to opt out. 

During the 1970s energy crisis, Congress tried year-round daylight saving time. It ended the experiment early because of public backlash, particularly over children walking to school and waiting for buses in the dark. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time to its current schedule, which is the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, starting in 2007. 

Energy savings was the main justification, and the results were minimal. The Department of Energy reported to Congress in 2008 that the extension saved about 0.03% of the nation’s electricity use; by the government’s own measure, a century of changing the clocks has saved very little energy.

Can communities prevent pedestrian deaths from daylight saving time changes?

Local governments don’t need to rely on Congress to make changes. The Federal Highway Administration offers these “proven safety countermeasures” that any municipality can employ:

1. Better street lighting. Lighting is associated with a 42% reduction in nighttime injury crashes that involve pedestrians at intersections. It’s one of the most direct ways to address the November spike. 
2. Leading pedestrian intervals. A municipality can change signal timing so a pedestrian has a three- to seven-second head start before the light turns green for vehicles. This cuts pedestrian-vehicle crashes by about 13% and costs little more than reprogramming the signal. 
3. Seasonal speed management and enforcement. A community can focus enforcement and temporary speed reductions on high-crash corridors during the first weeks after the change. 
4. Sidewalks, refuge islands, and well-lit mid-block crossings. Particularly on arterials where most of these deaths happen, a pedestrian-friendly safe zone can save lives. 
5. Public awareness campaigns timed to the change. Remind drivers to slow down and expect people on foot, and encourage pedestrians to wear reflective or bring clothing, and carry a light to be seen.

Are there bigger policy questions around the time changes?

On the national level, there’s debate brewing about which time to keep permanently (if either). 

On July 14th, 2026, the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139) to make daylight saving time permanent. As of late summer, the Senate companion bill (S. 29) was still waiting in committee, with one senator publicly opposed. 

Based on this data, permanent daylight saving time would keep evening commutes lighter, but would also mean dark winter mornings, which ended the 1970s experiment. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supports permanent standard time, rather than daylight saving time. Its argument is that circadian health and the safety risks of the clock change would have a negative effect on overall health. However, proponents of both permanent standard time and permanent daylight saving time agree that the twice-yearly switch is the worst option. 

But there’s yet another option: The “Safe System” approach treats pedestrian deaths as a design problem. If we build roads, lighting, and vehicles so a mistake in the dark isn’t fatal, we’ve solved part of the problem. Vehicle technology is important, as evidenced by the NHTSA’s automatic emergency braking rule. By 2029, all new cars and light trucks are required to detect pedestrians in both daylight and darkness. The NHTSA estimates it will save at least 360 lives each year. The rule faces an industry legal challenge and a proposed two-year delay. If it remains on schedule, it would directly reduce deaths like the ones presented in the data today.

How does this affect you?

Remember that behind each fatality statistic is a person who left work, a bus stop, or a store and never made it home. If you’re a driver, slow down and be extra cautious after the clocks change this November. If you’re a pedestrian, be as visible as possible. And if you or someone in your family suffers a pedestrian injury or fatality, speak with a personal injury lawyer before you speak with the insurance company—drivers have a legal duty to watch for pedestrians, whether or not it’s dark outside.