Watch out for dimmer November commutes after daylight saving time, pedestrians
November is an especially dangerous month to be a pedestrian. There's less daylight to enjoy, which is of course depressing, but there's also a few notable safety issues worth spotlighting.
The District Department of Transportation describes the new danger wonderfully on its goDCgo blog, so I'll let that speak for itself. Just know this:
Pedestrian fatalities due to motorists rise by 186% in the month of November directly following the Daylight Savings time change. According to the two scientists from Carnegie Mellon University who reported these findings, the dramatic increase in pedestrian-vehicle accidents is not due to the darkness by itself as much as the timing of the darkness. That is, it takes a few weeks for both pedestrians and motorists to adjust their walking and driving habits to being extra cautious an hour earlier than normal.
Be careful out there this November, D.C.

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