3 Things To Keep In Mind Now That It Gets Dark Earlier

It's that time of year again: the 'Fall Back' Daylight Saving. And now that it gets darker earlier, safety is something that should be on your mind.

As the natural light of the day starts to fade away, there are a few things you may want to remember, especially when it comes to life outside of your house.

1.) Animals don't usually wear watches. 

You're likely going to be driving in darker conditions than you usually do, so stay alert!

Many of us run our errands or make school pick-ups between 3 and 6 in the afternoon. While you might have had more daylight and thus greater visibility during those hours, once we fall back, that all changes and our afternoon commute takes place mostly in the dark.

Animals, who tend to use the cover of darkness to travel and keep safe, don't adjust to the time change and suddenly change their habits to move about differently during Daylight Saving Time, so it's a good idea to scan the roadway with diligence if you're driving about in the dark.

Even the Maine DOT agrees and puts out a reminder for drivers via their Facebook Page, to "expect the unexpected"...

"Daylight hours are replaced by darkness, and deer are on the move. Be on the lookout for wildlife in your travels. You can’t know what’s around the next turn. Expect the unexpected."

2.) Do your delivery person a solid and turn your outside lights on earlier. 

For those who spend their days and into the evenings delivering the mail and all of those online essentials we get suckered into ordering, it can make life a lot easier if they can see where they're going (and any obstacles in their way) when they visit your house to make a delivery. The same thought applies to those who deliver oil and such. Have their back, by lighting their way.

3.) Kids are often clueless when it comes to realizing their surroundings, or just how invisible they can be to a driver when they wear those dark-colored clothes after the sun goes down.

There are many kids who either walk home from after-school activities or play outside in the afternoon. And having 4 kids of my own, I can tell you, regardless of my efforts to dress them in neon colors like a traffic cone (which I am totally not above but then kids peel off layers as they get hot and that negates the effort to make them more visible) it can be really tricky to spot a small, dark-clothed, kid who may be darting in and out of a suburban side street.

As a parent, making sure your kids have something reflective on, a headlamp or flashlight, or a driveway with lights can up the chances of your kids being seen by drivers.

And drivers, please keep alert as you drive through school zones and through side streets.

Be safe and keep your eyes open.

Good luck out there!