On Sunday 27 March, at 2:00, the clocks went forward one hour. The next day, sunrise and sunset came later. But the night was also an hour shorter. Shall we look at its effects behind the wheel?
Fatigue is a subject we have covered here because of the danger it poses when we are at the wheel of any vehicle. It is directly related to the clock change, so it will also come up below. Since 2018, there has been talk of ending the clock change. Four years ago, the European Commission presented a proposal aimed at abolishing it throughout the EU, given that 84% of European citizens were against it. The problem? To date, the proposal has stalled.
This recent article in El País by Lucía Foraster Garriga quotes experts such as José Luis Casero, president of the National Commission for the Rationalisation of Spanish Working Hours, who describe the October time as the most suitable for health, rest, productivity and work and school performance. Sleep medicine specialists also explain how the summer change can cause disruptions lasting days, if not more severe sleep and gastrointestinal changes.
Driving on an hour less sleep
Because of the clock change to make the most of daylight hours, the change in routine can lead, according to the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT), to an imbalance in the body that results in fatigue, drowsiness or distraction. In her article for Tráfico y Seguridad Vial a year ago, Anabel Gutiérrez warns those who suffer from migraines or stress, because in the days following the clock change they could be more sensitive to pain.
On the other hand, daytime drowsiness is a factor that professionals have to deal with. Not for nothing is it the main cause of 30% of the accidents recorded on the roads. Professional driving and its work shifts, insufficient rest… can be fatal.
And what about the digital tachograph?
Professional drivers, for example, must make sure that the tachograph shows the correct time; if it did not, they would be committing a very serious offence, since the driver’s activities must be recorded. The start of winter time and summer time involve two time changes on the tachograph which do not affect how it works, but must be applied.
For winter time, the change takes place on the last Sunday in October, when the clocks go back one hour, while for summer time it is the last Sunday in March, when they go forward one hour.
Safe and responsible driving must take the clock change into account, for the simple reason that our biorhythm, each person’s internal clock, is disrupted. Keeping healthy sleep habits, eating properly and taking great care in the early hours and at dusk will be crucial over these days.