Daylight saving time and Halloween coincidence ends on Nov. 1, and the clocks will fall back one hour just as commute-daylight patterns shift. For drivers in California, that means the morning and evening trips to work will look different right away, with brighter sun in some lanes and earlier darkness in others.
California Highway Patrol Officer Andre Ortiz said sunlight has played a factor in crashes he has investigated during peak commute hours. He said eastbound and westbound drivers face the greatest exposure as the sun’s position changes, especially on the 10 freeway, the 101 freeway and the 60 freeway.
Andre Ortiz on glare
Ortiz said drivers can reduce the risk from bright sunlight by wearing sunglasses, using a sun visor, increasing following distance and slowing down. He also said a clean windshield matters on both sides of the glass.
“Making sure your windshield is clean, both the inside and the outside, because if there's smudges, that glare can be that much worse and may delay that much more reaction time from us,” Ortiz said.
The practical problem after Nov. 1 is simple: the sun rises and sets on a different schedule for commuters, so the same roads can present different visibility problems at the same hour. A driver heading into the morning commute may meet stronger glare, while the evening trip can begin with darker conditions earlier in the day.
AAA and drowsy driving
Kandace Redd of AAA said the time change also affects alertness on the road. Drivers gain an hour of sleep when clocks fall back, but the earlier sunset can still put more sleepy drivers behind the wheel during evening travel.
“Keep in mind that even though we gain an hour when we fall back, drivers should still be mindful of drowsy driving, especially with the change in your sleep schedule. With darkness arriving earlier, it's really important to stay alert. Get enough sleep and never drive when you're tired,” Redd said.
That leaves commuters with a narrow but useful adjustment: slow down when glare is strongest in the morning and treat the earlier darkness as a cue to watch for tired drivers later in the day. The clock changes by one hour on Nov. 1; the habits needed on the road change with it.
