Daylight Saving Time Changes Increase Chances of Driver Fatigue and Drowsiness

By Rockland Daily Staff

Ahead of the end of daylight-saving time, the New York State Partnership Against Drowsy Driving (NYPDD) reminded drivers to be aware of the dangers of drowsy driving.

Despite the additional hour gained in the time change, it can disrupt sleep patterns, causing people to feel drowsy.

Daylight saving time ended at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 3. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) uses the occasion to begin its Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, November 3 to 9.

In 2023, 5,111 police-reported crashes in New York State involved “fatigue/drowsy driving” and/or “driver fell asleep” as contributing factors, according to preliminary statistics from the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR) at the University at Albany’s Rockefeller College. Of the reported crashes, 15 involved at least one fatality, and 1,843 involved at least one injury.

So far in 2024, those same factors have been listed 2,419 times on police crash reports from across the state, according to preliminary figures from ITSMR. Of those reported crashes, three involved at least one fatality, and 852 involved at least one injury.