Gain your hour of sleep back overnight as we Fall Back in time

The final instalment of our two part yearly ritual of time shifting arrives overnight, as British Columbians join much of the rest of North America in turning the clocks back one hour, making for the fall bookend to the Springtime advance of time.

What's known as Daylight Saving's time arrives at 2AM on Sunday, though most of us take care of our timepiece adjustments well before that magical changeover, using the additional hour gained to catch up on the sleep we lost in the Spring, not that our internal body clocks are holding an account of the deposits and withdrawals.

The changeover also means the arrival of shorter daylight hours and longer periods of darkness, something more pronounced on the North Coast than in southern locales and one which makes for safety themes as we noted in October. 

As well, a reminder to change any batteries in your smoke and other household alarms.

With safety in mind ICBC is calling for increased awareness for all, noting how nearly half of all crashes involving pedestrians take place between October and January.

As we've seen in Prince Rupert in recent years, motorist/pedestrian incidents have been of concern and resulted in injuries. 

Towards more safety they have offered up some helpful notes for both pedestrian and motorist.

Tips for 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 is stopped in front of you or in the lane next to you, they may be yielding for a pedestrian. 

Expect the unexpected, even mid-block, as pedestrians may be jaywalking. 

Tips for safe walking 

Be careful at intersections. Watch for drivers turning left or right through the crosswalk. Drivers may be focused on oncoming traffic and not see you. 

Don't jaywalk - always use crosswalks and follow the pedestrian signs and traffic signals. 

Make eye contact with drivers, as it's hard to see pedestrians when visibility is poor in fall and winter. Never assume that a driver has seen you. 

Remove your headphones and take a break from your phone while crossing the road. 

Be as reflective as possible to make it easier for drivers to see you in wet weather, at dusk and at night. 

You can review all of ICBC's advice here.

We continue to wander from room to room to adjust our clocks despite plans once in place to abandon the practice and just hold to one time year round, that political initiative came to a standstill when the American States to the North and South of the province decided that they were content with the status quo for now while they try to figure out a plan for change.

Their decision one which put Premier Horgan's time shift cancellation program on the shelf for the foreseeable  future. The disruption to business, and compatibility with the west coast timezone proving to be the deciding factor over having BC go it alone. 

For now British Columbians can only look to their Northern neighbours in the Yukon to see how the time change end experiment is working, with the Territory abolishing the time change shuffle in 2020.