With the upcoming time change, less daylight and Halloween; a campaign is underway to encourage safety as crashes involving pedestrians increase with less daylight.

Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 3rd – meaning time to turn back clocks one hour. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments is emphasizing its walk, bike and drive safely campaign and is working to improve traffic safety through education - saying factors such as shorter days, back-to-school and Halloween all combine outdoor activity with dark conditions.
SEMCOG Planner Jenya Abramovich says the goal is to reduce the number and severity of crashes involving people who walk and bike in the region. Abramovich tells WHMI during the fall but especially around Daylight Saving Time and Halloween, they’re putting out safety messaging to educate the public about best practices and how to be safe out on the road because this time of year is especially dangerous for people who are out walking and biking.

An analysis of traffic crash data in the Southeast Michigan region showed that this time of year, 70% of pedestrian crashes take place in dark conditions. Data further shows 65% of bicyclists’ deaths happen in the dark, and on average, children are over four times as likely to be hit by a car on Halloween than any other day. Abramovich noted crashes involving people who walk or bike account for less than 2% of total crashes in the region but make up almost 30% of fatalities. She says it’s important that people respect each other on the road and look for each other regardless of how someone is traveling and practice safe behavior when walking, biking or driving. She stresses that people need to make sure they’re visible if walking in the dark and its important people look both ways before they cross to make sure a road is clear and also use a crosswalk whenever possible. Abramovich said drivers need to be on the lookout for people crossing the road, especially this time of year. As much as they want people to cross at intersections and crosswalks, it’s not always possible or always the case so drivers need to be aware, especially when turning.

Further data and safety information is available through the provided link. (JM)