On the first Sunday of November, Nov. 1, 2026, clocks fall back from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. local time, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The U.S. Naval Observatory computes that sunset in Hempstead moves from 5:53 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, to 4:50 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2.
NYS DMV records for Nassau and Suffolk show 1,516 crashes in the 5–6:59 p.m. block in the two weeks before the clock change and 1,920 in the two weeks after, up 27%, in 2021, 2023 and 2024 combined. Pedestrian crashes in that block went from 18 to 60, the DMV records show.
Sunset moves from 5:53 p.m. to 4:50 p.m. in Hempstead
On Friday, Oct. 30, under daylight time, sunset in Hempstead comes at 5:53 p.m. and civil twilight ends at 6:21 p.m., according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. On Monday, Nov. 2, under standard time, sunset is 4:50 p.m. and civil twilight ends at 5:18 p.m.
Sunset and end of civil twilight on Long Island around the clock change (U.S. Naval Observatory) (Times are local clock time as the U.S. Naval Observatory computes them for each date)
| Place | Sunset, Fri., Oct. 30 (daylight time) | Civil twilight ends, Fri., Oct. 30 (daylight time) | Sunset, Mon., Nov. 2 (standard time) | Civil twilight ends, Mon., Nov. 2 (standard time) | Sunset, Mon., Dec. 7 | Civil twilight ends, Mon., Dec. 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hempstead (Nassau) | 5:53 p.m. | 6:21 p.m. | 4:50 p.m. | 5:18 p.m. | 4:27 p.m. | 4:58 p.m. |
| Hauppauge (Suffolk) | 5:51 p.m. | 6:20 p.m. | 4:48 p.m. | 5:16 p.m. | 4:25 p.m. | 4:56 p.m. |
Evening crashes went from 1,516 to 1,920 after past clock changes
NYS DMV records for 2021, 2023 and 2024 combined show 10,325 Nassau and Suffolk crashes in the two weeks before the clock change and 10,200 in the two weeks after.
In the 5–6:59 p.m. block, the DMV records show 1,516 crashes before and 1,920 after. In 2021, when clocks fell back Nov. 7, the block went from 497 to 669 crashes. In 2023, with the change on Nov. 5, it went from 529 to 654. In 2024, with the change on Nov. 3, it went from 490 to 597.
DMV records list 48% of 5–6:59 p.m. crashes as dark, on a lighted or unlighted road, in the two weeks before the change. In the two weeks after, that share is 88%.
Pedestrian crashes in the 5–6:59 p.m. block went from 18 to 60 across the three years, according to the DMV. At all hours, pedestrian crashes went from 198 to 207.
Nassau and Suffolk crashes in the 5–6:59 p.m. block, two weeks before vs. two weeks after the end of daylight saving time (NYS DMV) (pedestrian crash = DMV first harmful event “Pedestrian, Collision With”; 2022 excluded, see Limitations)
| Year (clocks fell back) | All crashes 5–6:59 p.m., 2 weeks before | All crashes 5–6:59 p.m., 2 weeks after | Pedestrian crashes 5–6:59 p.m., 2 weeks before | Pedestrian crashes 5–6:59 p.m., 2 weeks after |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 (Nov 7) | 497 | 669 | 6 | 20 |
| 2023 (Nov 5) | 529 | 654 | 8 | 26 |
| 2024 (Nov 3) | 490 | 597 | 4 | 14 |
| Three years combined | 1,516 | 1,920 | 18 | 60 |
AAA Northeast’s own statewide analysis of New York for 2023 found a “73% increase in crashes in the 5 p.m. hour from October to November” and “98% more pedestrian crashes in the 5 p.m. hour in November than October.” Those are statewide figures, not Long Island counts.
Pedestrian deaths in the 5–6:59 p.m. block went from 15 to 31
The NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System counts 1,009 pedestrians killed in Nassau and Suffolk crashes from 2010 to 2024. Of those, 724, or 71.8%, died in crashes FARS records as happening in the dark.
FARS records show 15 pedestrians killed on Long Island in the 5–6:59 p.m. block in the four weeks before the clock change and 31 in the four weeks after, 2010–2024 combined.
By month, FARS counts 0 pedestrian deaths in the 5–6:59 p.m. block in September, 13 in October, 32 in November and 37 in December. December’s 117 pedestrian deaths at all hours are the most for any month in the table.
Pedestrians killed in Nassau and Suffolk crashes by month, 2010–2024 (NHTSA FARS) (2024 figures are NHTSA’s preliminary file)
| Month | Pedestrians killed, all hours | Pedestrians killed, 5–6:59 p.m. |
|---|---|---|
| January | 94 | 27 |
| February | 71 | 14 |
| March | 60 | 6 |
| April | 74 | 2 |
| May | 69 | 7 |
| June | 67 | 5 |
| July | 62 | 1 |
| August | 70 | 3 |
| September | 105 | 0 |
| October | 106 | 13 |
| November | 114 | 32 |
| December | 117 | 37 |
Nationally, NHTSA counted 7,080 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in 2024. Its Pedestrians: 2024 Data report states: “More pedestrian fatalities occurred in the dark (76%) than in daylight (20%), dusk (2%), and dawn (2%).” The same report says: “During the fall months (September to November), 29 percent of the pedestrian fatalities occurred from 6 to 8:59 p.m.”
Weekday 511 crash records peaked at 8–9:59 a.m. before the change
511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic show 377 weekday crash records with a usable “Reported” time in Nassau and Suffolk from July 20 to October 17, 2026.
Of those, 44, or 11.7%, were reported from 5 to 6:59 p.m., according to the 511NY records. The busiest weekday two-hour block in that window was 8–9:59 a.m., with 63 records.
LIRR runs two trains from Penn Station in the repeated 1 a.m. hour
The LIRR’s notice “Service adjustments for change to Standard Time,” posted on the MTA alert feed and tracked on Long Island Traffic’s LIRR status and service changes page, says trains scheduled to depart their origin in the 1 a.m. hour on Nov. 1 will do so on Eastern Daylight Time.
During the 1 a.m. EST hour, two trains will depart Penn Station, according to the LIRR. The 1:48 a.m. EST train runs to Babylon via Jamaica and Rockville Centre. The 1:57 a.m. EST train runs to Ronkonkoma via Jamaica, Mineola and Hicksville, except Pinelawn. “No other trains will begin their trips,” the notice says.
Trains en route during the time change will complete their trips promptly and will not wait for the clock to “catch up” to their schedules, the LIRR notice says. The TrainTime app will not show real-time information during the change, though scheduled times remain available, according to the LIRR.
What AAA Northeast and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee advise
- AAA Northeast, to drivers: “Ensure lights are in good working order”; “Keep your windshield clean.”
- AAA Northeast, to drivers: “Decrease your speed to compensate for reduced visibility”; “Turn slowly at intersections”; “Beware of glare.”
- NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, to pedestrians: “Wear light-colored clothing and add reflective material to increase visibility – especially when walking at night.”
- NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee: “Pedestrians should never assume that a driver has seen them.”
- NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, to drivers: “Drivers should expect pedestrians, avoid distractions like cell phone use, and obey speed limits.”
How we measured this
- NYS DMV: every police-reported crash in Nassau and Suffolk counties in the 14 days before and the 14 days after the end of daylight saving time in 2021 (Nov. 7), 2023 (Nov. 5) and 2024 (Nov. 3), from the DMV’s crash case file on data.ny.gov; “5–6:59 p.m.” uses the crash time recorded on the report; a pedestrian crash is one whose first harmful event is “Pedestrian, Collision With”. Two-week windows keep Thanksgiving week out of every year’s comparison.
- FARS: every fatal crash in Nassau and Suffolk in NHTSA’s 2010–2024 files (2024 preliminary), as stored in Long Island Traffic’s factbook; pedestrian deaths are counted by the month and hour of the crash and by FARS’s light-condition field.
- Sunset and civil twilight: U.S. Naval Observatory one-day sun data for Hempstead (40.7062, -73.6187) and Hauppauge (40.8257, -73.2026), retrieved Oct. 18, 2026.
- 511NY: Long Island Traffic’s stored 511NY records titled Crash, Vehicle fire or Overturned vehicle on Nassau and Suffolk roads, weekdays only, by the record’s 511 “Reported” time, July 20–October 17, 2026.
- Quoted statements from NIST, NHTSA, AAA Northeast, the NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee and the LIRR were read on their own pages or feeds on Oct. 18, 2026.
Limitations
- 2022 is left out of the DMV comparison: the file holds 1,113 Suffolk crashes from Oct. 9 to Nov. 1, 2022, against 3,004 from Nov. 2 to Nov. 25, 2022 and 2,992 for Oct. 9 to Nov. 1, 2023, which points to missing October 2022 Suffolk reports rather than fewer crashes.
- The DMV file ends Dec. 31, 2024; it does not yet cover 2025.
- Counts compare equal-length windows; they do not account for weather, traffic volume or other changes between the two weeks, so they show what happened after the change, not that the change caused it.
- Pedestrian crash counts in the 5–6:59 p.m. block are small, so single-year figures move a lot; the three-year total is steadier.
- FARS counts only crashes in which someone died within 30 days; 2024 is NHTSA’s preliminary file.
- 511NY data was missing or incomplete on Aug 15, 2026, Sep 4, 2026, Sep 7, 2026, Sep 30, 2026, Oct 1, 2026, Oct 2, 2026, Oct 4, 2026, Oct 17, 2026 (a 511NY outage or capture gap); those 8 days are excluded, and all per-day and per-mile figures use the remaining 82 days.
- A 511 record is not a verified crash: one collision can produce more than one record and some crashes never reach 511.
- AAA Northeast’s New York figures are its own statewide analysis, not Long Island counts.
Sources
- NYS DMV, Motor Vehicle Crashes — Case Information: Four Year Window (data.ny.gov)
- NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2010–2024
- U.S. Naval Observatory, sun and moon data for one day
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Daylight Saving Time
- NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts, Pedestrians: 2024 Data (DOT HS 813 818)
- AAA Northeast, “Evening Commute Becomes More Dangerous as Daylight Saving Time Ends” (Nov. 3, 2025)
- NYS Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, Tips for Pedestrian Safety
- MTA Long Island Rail Road planned service change, “Service adjustments for change to Standard Time” (MTA alert feed)
- 511NY event feed (NYSDOT), as recorded by Long Island Traffic