City urges extra caution on Hamilton roads as standard time returns

Hamilton has embarked on a month-long public education campaign to remind drivers to be cautious during their evening commutes.

The campaign was launched now that we’ve moved our clocks back and lost an hour of daylight in the late afternoon.

Mike Field, the city’s director of transportation operations, says the clock change is typically followed by an increase in collisions involving pedestrians.

“I really appreciate that we’re highlighting this,” Field says. “I don’t think people put their minds to the impact of changing the clocks from that perspective.”

From 2019 to 2021, City of Hamilton statistics showed there were 70 pedestrian collisions during the standard time months, compared with 39 for the rest of those years.

Field acknowledges that the time change is only one factor. “We’re getting into the months where the weather is changing as well, and we’re going to get more rain and eventually some ice and snow.”

“An education campaign like this is, in my mind, a benefit,” Field says. “Maybe as a driver or cyclist or pedestrian, think a little bit more before (you) leave (your) home or place of work.”