Losing an hour of sleep to Daylight Savings is one thing, but could you potentially be losing your attention to detail on your morning commute, too – which could lead to more car accidents on the road.

AAA Mid-Atlantic seems to think so. The agency says that drivers tend to be less alert after the Daylight Savings time change, which officially began on March 9 at 2 a.m. CST. Representatives said people who are already sleep-deprived and have to get up an hour earlier may not be as safe on the roads.

If this is indeed the case, Houston car accident attorneys may be even busier than usual in the weeks after the time change. Distracted driving is a leading cause of car wrecks, statistics from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety show. 17 percent of fatal crashes and 13 percent of crashes that required hospitalization can be blamed on a sleepy driver. Furthermore, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says sleepy drivers are the cause of more than 100,000 crashes a year.

Some time zones, such as Mountain Time, don’t have to deal with Daylight Savings at all: they don’t get sweetness of the extra hour or bitterness of the lost hour. Houston is affected by Daylight Savings time changes. To help avoid the risk of an auto accident, make sure you:

• Go to bed early. You should try to get a good 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night.
• Eat breakfast and grab a jolt of caffeine if you need it.
• Pay extra attention. Put down the phone, stop reaching around in the car and be extra vigilant.

If you are involved in an accident that may due to another driver’s negligence, call Kirkendall Dwyer LLP today for your free consultation.