Public Safety
Driver looking out automobile safety

With Time Change on Sunday, Risk of Hitting Cars and Pedestrians Jumps: Here’s How to Avoid It

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Like the end of a film noir, Daylight Saving Time will fade to black Sunday, a period when Connecticut’s roadway crashes spike, warns AAA Northeast. — an announcement from AAA Northeast
Starting Nov. 6 — when clocks “fall back” an hour at 2 a.m., and we all gain an hour — the 5 to 6 p.m. hour becomes a perilous time, said Fran Mayko, AAA Northeast spokeswoman. “The November time change creates many more hazards during evening commutes because people aren’t used to darkness coming earlier,” Mayko said. Between 2017 and 2021, during the 5 p.m. hour, the UConn Crash Data Repository reports Connecticut saw a 206% spike in pedestrian-related crashes when comparing the four weeks after DST ends to the four weeks prior, she said.

Healthy Living
Bicycles parked Darien Railroad Station Darien Train Station Bikes 09-18-17

Police: Please Walk, Jog and Ride Safely — Here Are the Rules, Here’s How to Follow Them

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With more Darien residents walking, jogging, cycling, driving and otherwise using the town streets and sidewalks during the COVID-19 crisis, town police have become more concerned about people staying safe and avoiding accidents. After all: A hospital is definitely one place you’d rather not be right now, if you can avoid it. So the Police Department on Monday issued some information on what the rules of the road are. “If everyone follows these basic and reasonable rules, roadways users can safely co-exist,” the announcement said. “Please, take an extra minute or two and consider giving “the other guy” an additional margin of safety and distance.”

Public Safety

Automobile Association: Hit-and-Run Crashes Rising in U.S. and CT, Including Deadly Ones

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Hit and run crashes have killed more than 2,000 people in 2016, which equates to more than one such crash every minute on U.S. roads, reports a new study by the AAA Foundation of Traffic Safety. These types of crashes are the highest number on record and a 60 percent increase since 2009. — This article is an announcement from AAA Northeast
With the number of hit-and-run crashes on the rise, AAA is calling for drivers to be alert on the road to avoid a deadly crash and remain on the scene if a crash occurs. In the study, AAA researchers found:

An average of 682,000 hit-and-run crashes occurred annually since 2006. Nearly 65 percent of people killed in hit-and-run crashes were pedestrians or bicyclists.