Time change linked to spike in fatigue-related crashes: BCAA

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It is said that time change can have the same effects on your body as jet lag. This morning our clocks went back one hour as move from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time but the change is often linked to a spike in fatigue-related crashes on local roads.

Niela Milanio with BCAA suggests going to bed earlier than usual tonight so you’re not as groggy for the Monday morning commute.

She says this time change is a double-whammy for drivers because your sleep schedule is a little off and the days are darker longer and very wet.

“Pay attention to the warning signs of driving while fatigued. If you’re blinking or yawning a lot, not being able to remember the last stretch of road that you just drove, finding it difficult to concentrate or maybe you’re drifting over the centre line.”

If you’re a BCAA member and are feeling too tired to drive and don’t think its safe for to stay behind the wheel, they’ll come pick you up.

“People will often themselves in certain situations that are completely unexpected and they might find that they feel if they are unable to drive safely, we want to make sure people get home safely. Members can call us and we’ll tow them and their car home.”

ICBC says on average, there are 800 crashes every year involving driver fatigue, resulting in 540 injuries and 15 fatalities. The highest number of fatigue-related crashes occur on the weekend too.

“Bear in mind that driver fatigue is likely a factor in a higher number of crashes but, unlike alcohol impairment for example, there’s no test to determine the level of a driver’s fatigue at the time of a crash,” says the crown corporation’s Adam Grossman.

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine says while heart attacks increase in the three days after we spring forward, there’s almost no increase in the fall as we get an extra hour of sleep.

We’ll move our clocks ahead one hour for Daylight Saving Time on March 8th, 2015.