Are car accidents in California more likely after changing your clocks?

There is no doubt that it’s difficult to give up an hour of sleep in the spring when the clocks move forward, but many individuals feel that this energy conservation trick that started in World War I is now well-beyond its usefulness. For example, the electricity savings or taking advantage of more daylight during evening hours could be nonexistent or in the best case, unclear. Car accidents in California may spike shortly after Daylight Savings Time changes.

Car Accidents in California Jump Near Daylight Savings Time: What’s the Impact?

Although an hour of lost sleep seems like a minimal disruption, small changes in sleep can alter basic health indicators and even decrease your mental sharpness. Researchers in the past have found that there are major public health consequences associated with millions of individuals in the U.S. who lose sleep every year.

Researchers at Stanford and Johns Hopkins University went one step further and discovered that there is a small but significant jump in road deaths on the Monday after clocks move forward in the spring. On a typical Monday, the average deaths are around 78.2 but on spring forward Monday, this increases to 83.5. Although this might seem like a small jump, it does lend credence to the possibility that altered sleep conditions can have a significant impact on your overall well-being.

Although more research is needed, it does seem that daylight savings time has an impact on car accidents in California.