After nine months of hard work, B.C. residents will finally receive those extra 60 minutes of slumber.
At 2 a.m. early Sunday morning (Nov. 6), the clocks will fall back by one hour as daylight savings time comes to an end for 2022.
This will apply to most of the province — sans the Kootenay and northeast regions as they'll remain on Mountain time.
It also signals the winter months are fast-approaching despite the cold, windy conditions already in play amid several rain and snowfall warnings.
The time change also means darkness will reign true for most of the day and officials are reminding the public to take extra precaution, especially when heading out on the road.
ICBC says the darker hours may make it difficult for pedestrians and drivers to see each other.
On average, the provincial agency says 44 per cent of crashes involving pedestrians each year take place between October and January.
RCMP have also provided the following tips to avoid pedestrian collisions:
Pedestrians
- Make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street. Do not assume a driver has seen you.
- Dress to be seen in bright or reflective clothing especially at night and on dark/overcast days.
- Use a crosswalk, a majority of the fatal pedestrian collisions involve jaywalking.
- Walk on the inside edge of the sidewalk so you are further away from traffic.
- If there is no sidewalk, walk facing traffic so you can see oncoming vehicles.
- Make sure you can hear and see oncoming cars. Remove your headphones and your hood when crossing the street.
- Always look for signs that a vehicle is about to move (rear lights, exhaust smoke, sound of motor, wheels turning).
Drivers
- Focus on the road. Always leave your phone alone while driving.
- Be ready to yield to pedestrians, especially when turning at intersections and near transit stops.
- If a vehicle has stopped in front of you or in the lane next to you, it may be yielding for a pedestrian.
- Expect the unexpected, even mid-block, as pedestrians may be jaywalking.
- Slow down. Give yourself more time to react to the unexpected, like a pedestrian that suddenly appears in front of you.
Permanent daylight savings in 2023?
This will be the fourth straight year that clocks will fall back since legislation passed in 2019 that B.C. would stop seasonal time changes.
The province has said it will immediately make the permanent change to a daylight savings standard time as soon as Washington, Oregon and California are allowed to do so, which could be as early as this time next year.
Premier John Horgan said, in March earlier this year, a bill was passed in the U.S. Senate that would implement daylight savings across the country, and it is now in the hands of the House of Representatives to make that possible.
If ultimately passed, the switch would be made in November 2023.
According to a record-breaking public engagement survey in 2019, 93 per cent of more than 223,000 British Columbians who responded said it would support the change.
