It’s about time to “Fall Back” with Daylight Savings Time (DST) and set our clocks back by one hour on November 5th. The change in the clocks was proposed by those interested in giving people more hours of daylight in the evening hours for entertainment purposes, and not by farmers, which is a common misperception. Daylight Saving Time aims to align our clocks and the times we are awake and active with the longer number of hours of daylight in the summer and the shorter number of hours of daylight in the winter. What DST also does is make it darker for longer in the morning, which poses a hazard for those working on road crews and for driving in general. See the steps you should take to minimize the dangers.

Mitigating the Dangers of DST

There’s no denying that it’s more dangerous to drive on a dark roadway than one lit by daylight. Organizations such as The National Road Safety Foundation have led studies that show that car accidents increase after the clocks “fall back” for the end of DST in the fall. Accidents are also much more likely to happen on roadside construction sites during the dark hours of the day than daylight hours. 

Tips for road construction workers and anyone on the road during the dark to lessen the dangers associated with Daylight Savings Time include:

  1. Respect construction zones, especially when it is dark out. Slow down and keep your attention on the road. There is no text, song change, or other task that is more important than a life.
  2. Wear reflective clothing and other PPE. Road construction workers are usually wearing high-vis yellow or orange, and adding reflective tape or a vest to wear during work hours that occur during nighttime is a must.
  3. Utilize enough lighting. Make sure your road construction site has adequate lighting and backup lighting in case your usual lighting fails. Also make sure workers have all the lighting they need to be seen and perform their jobs.
  4. Keep daylight hours. Minimize the number of hours your crew is on a roadside construction site after the sun goes down and before it comes up again.
  5. Keep safety at the forefront. Utilize safety meetings and tool talks to remind workers about safety hazards and the protocols in place to keep them safe.

Safety is always our #1 at Tucker Paving. We have nearly 30 years of experience in the asphalt and concrete paving industry. We complete projects for residential, commercial, and municipal clients. Contact us by calling (863) 299-2262, or fill out our contact form online, and let us assist you with your next concrete or asphalt paving project.