Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to make sure that no one gets hurt on the road when we spring forward this weekend, so he’s turning to social media for assistance.
The city’s Department of Transportation will post on its various online accounts tips for driving during the first week after Daylight Saving Time. DOT crash data over the last five years shows a 10% increase in fatalities and accidents in the city in the week after the change in time goes into effect. Between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., the week-to-week increase is 30%, according to DOT.
“We’ll have darker mornings when that happens, and that means people have to be vigilant when they’re driving because suddenly you’re dealing with a different reality in the morning. It’s not business as usual,” the mayor said Thursday.
The DOT messages will instruct drivers “to drive defensively and to expect the unexpected.” We will lose an hour at 1 a.m. on Sunday.
“One of our major goals for Vision Zero is about increasing awareness and changing behavior: New Yorkers should know that driving when you are even a little sleepy makes you more likely to make dangerous choices behind the wheel,” Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said in a statement. (With Emily Ngo)
