Today is the day we give father time back the hour we stole from him last fall, and we're all a little tired as a result. If you're a frequent traveler or you don't have a 9-5 job, the change may mean little to you. For those of us with a set schedule, however, pushing forward the alarm clock increases your chance for a car accident. The Detroit Free Press obtained from the Michigan State Police crash statistics for the average Monday vs. the Monday after the time change, and the numbers are pretty crazy. On an average Monday in March, there are 1,022 accidents in the state of Michigan, but on the Monday after the clocks are moved forward, the average amount of accidents between 2002 and 2006 jumped to 1,396. The good news, if there is any, is that there are fewer fatalities than average on Spring Forward Monday. Experts say sleep deprivation could be part of the problem, but bad weather could have also play a factor. Either way, try to hit the hay early tonight, make a beeline to the local beanery for some breakfast blend, and double-check the seat belt before you head to work tomorrow.
[Source: Freep]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hooper @ Mar 9th 2008 10:43AM
"Today is the day we give father time back the hour we stole from him last fall"
Nuh-uh. Standard time is exactly that, standard. It's Daylight Saving Time that's non-standard, and you might say we deposit one hour into Father Time's (or Mother Nature's) bank until we withdraw it in the fall. The interest (withdrawn daily) is the additional hour of daylight (not to be confused with an additional hour of *time*) that we get during waking hours during Daylight Saving Time.
why not the LS2LS7? @ Mar 9th 2008 11:37AM
Personally, if I were to guess why accidents go up on the "spring forward", it wouldn't be anything to do with circadian rhythms or weather.
It'd simply be people who had to be somewhere at a certain time, and who realized suddenly at some point that because they forgot about the time change they have left an hour late and so go out and drive faster to try to make up as much time as possible.
Boss: "Jeff, you were supposed to be here 30 minutes ago, where are you?"
Jeff: "No, I wasn't even going to leave for another 10 minu... OH NO! I'M GETTING IN THE CAR RIGHT NOW!"
tankd0g @ Mar 10th 2008 2:50AM
Also add to that they are trying to figure out how to set their dash clock at 80mph :)
celeritas @ Mar 9th 2008 12:33PM
The picture looks like a Corolla and a Civic are mating. The offspring would be a Toyonda Corvic.
TBlueMax @ Mar 9th 2008 4:07PM
Taken literally, headlines would be correct in reading: "Toyota Corolla tops Honda Civic" - this would usually refer to annual sales volumes but the picture speaks for itself.
toronado455 @ Mar 9th 2008 4:13PM
I've been meaning to make a "side-by-side" comparison of the last gen Corolla and Civic, but this is even better! :-)
Harrison @ Mar 9th 2008 5:16PM
(in a U.K. English-accented voice)
This is the Corolla in its native mating ritual. As you can see, its mating ritual is rather violent, as it has a nas-ty hahbit of spring-ing onto unsuspecting Civics.
J.L. @ Mar 10th 2008 12:11PM
Hahaha, that is hilarious!
I bet that would be one ugly baby!
Judy Zik @ Mar 9th 2008 12:41PM
I never did get the point to this clocks forward clocks back thing. Why not just leave them forward the hour all year long. December is the worst month as far as our days being too short as you get North. Around here leaving the clocks ahead an hour year round would make it dark at 5pm instead of 4pm. That could make a big difference for evening commutes and for those of us who are not up at dawn every morning we would get an extra hour of sun.
bepsf @ Mar 9th 2008 3:00PM
I don't get it either.
Just when the sun is coming up when it's time for me to wake up instead of me getting up in the dark, we set the clocks ahead and I have to wake up in the dark again - Stupid move.
_Jon @ Mar 9th 2008 3:23PM
Congress created DST at the behest of business lobbyists.
It sucks.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2JhMmQxNjRkNjljZTdmNDM5MzFhNjcwMDc0YjE4ZDE=
Christian @ Mar 9th 2008 8:41PM
How about accidents caused by people reaching through their steering wheel to set their car's clocks on their way to work? That's has to be a significant source of accidents.
ambientFLIER @ Mar 9th 2008 9:20PM
Does anyone else think that it's impressive that the windows in the civic aren't even shattered? I know the roof in modern cars has to be strong, but jeez...
k.w.a @ Mar 9th 2008 10:54PM
hahaha i love the pic...
seeing that its a situation between a corolla, a civic and really bad driver, im guessing this was on a college campus
Michael @ Mar 10th 2008 6:56AM
Looks like my driveway when my two sisters come and visit .