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This always causes a temporary surge in the number of accidents involving pedestrians in the first days as motorists are not adapted to the darkness in the evening rush hour.
The switch takes place on Sunday morning, when 3am becomes 2am. It allows you to stay in bed 1 hour more in the morning, but it also has a negative effect on road accidents. As darkness falls one hour earlier in the late afternoon, the number of accidents is up.
Statistics collected by the Belgian Institute for Road Safety (BIVV) show that the number of accidents involving pedestrians is 25 percent up in the days and weeks following the switch. At the same time, the injuries are more serious. The BIVV compared statistics from October to those from November during the previous years.
On average, 961 pedestrians get injured in road accidents in October. In November, this number is up 25 percent reaching 1,197. On average, 2 pedestrians are killed in traffic accidents in October, compared 5 to 6 in November.
The most dangerous time for pedestrians is between 4 and 7pm, says BIVV spokeswoman Sofie Van Damme. "We see a real peak in the number of accidents with pedestrians in these 3 hours. For many motorists, Monday will be the first day when they have to return home from work in the dark. They have to adapt to this new situation."
Other factors that have a negative impact are the rain and the falling leaves, which create even more hazardous driving conditions.
[Flandersnews.be / Expatica]