The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026, so the evening commute and the school run home suddenly happen in the dark. Police data analysed by the RAC Foundation found 11.3% more collisions injuring pedestrians in the fortnight after the clocks go back than in the fortnight before. Wear something bright or reflective, use lights on your bike, slow down when driving and give your eyes extra time to spot people.
Updated 15 October 2026 · Sources: Department for Transport (Reported road casualties Great Britain 2025), The Highway Code, RAC Foundation, GOV.UK
Make sure you are safe from traffic first, then call 999 or 112 and ask for an ambulance and the police. Tell them exactly where you are and follow the call handler’s instructions until help arrives.
Darker evenings in four numbers
Clock change: GOV.UK. Collision change: RAC Foundation “Clock changes and personal injury collisions” (October 2018), using six years of Department for Transport STATS19 police data, 2012–2017. Deaths and injuries: Department for Transport, Reported road casualties Great Britain 2025, published 30 July 2026. Great Britain covers England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland publishes its own figures.
Why are the weeks after the clocks go back riskier?
When the clocks go back, the drive and walk home that happened in daylight a week earlier now happen at dusk or in the dark, before people have adjusted. The RAC Foundation found collisions rise after the autumn change, mostly in the afternoon and evening, and linked the rise to darker evenings combined with worse winter weather.
Key: average change in personal injury collisions in the two weeks after the clocks go back in autumn compared with the two weeks before, Great Britain, 2012–2017. Pedestrian crashes = collisions in which a pedestrian was injured (908 before, 1,011 after, on average); Evening crashes = all collisions in the afternoon and evening; All crashes = all collisions (278 more a year on average); Morning crashes = all collisions in the morning. Source: RAC Foundation, October 2018.
When are pedestrians most at risk?
Department for Transport figures show that on weekdays, pedestrians are most likely to be killed or seriously injured between 3pm and 6pm, with a smaller peak around 8am. At weekends the peak comes later, in the early evening. After 25 October that weekday afternoon peak, the school run and the commute home, overlaps with dusk and darkness.
In fatal or serious collisions between a vehicle and a pedestrian in 2024–2025, police most often recorded the pedestrian being careless or in a hurry (56%) and ineffective observation, by the driver, rider or pedestrian, for 53% of the vehicles involved. In the dark, both get harder: drivers see less, and people crossing misjudge how visible they are. For crime after dark, rather than road risk, see when crime is most likely by hour and season.
How can pedestrians be seen in the dark?
The Highway Code says to wear or carry something light-coloured, bright or fluorescent in poor daylight, and to use reflective materials when it is dark, such as armbands, sashes, jackets or footwear. Reflective materials can be seen by drivers using headlights up to three times as far away as non-reflective ones. Fluorescent colours work in daylight; reflective ones work at night.
On a road with no pavement, keep to the right-hand side so you face oncoming traffic, keep close to the side and be ready to walk in single file, especially in poor light. Use crossings where you can and follow the Green Cross Code: stop at the kerb, look all around and listen, and cross straight over without running. Our walking home alone at night checklist covers personal safety on the same journey.
What does the law say about bike lights?
At night your bike must have a white front light and a red rear light switched on, plus a red rear reflector, and bikes made after 1 October 1985 must also have amber pedal reflectors. Flashing lights are allowed, but the Highway Code advises a steady front light on unlit roads. White front reflectors and spoke reflectors help other road users see you from the side.
The Highway Code also suggests light-coloured or fluorescent clothing in daylight and poor light, and reflective belts, arm or ankle bands after dark. More kit and route tips are in our running and cycling after dark checklist.
How should drivers adapt to darker evenings?
Between sunset and sunrise your sidelights and rear number-plate lights must be on, and you must use headlights at night except on roads with lit street lighting. Dip them so you don’t dazzle pedestrians, cyclists or other drivers, and slow down or stop if you are dazzled. The Highway Code says to drive at a speed that lets you stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.
It also tells drivers to reduce speed at night, because other road users are harder to see, and around pedestrians, especially children, older adults and disabled people, cyclists and horse riders. Clean the windscreen inside and out and check every light works before the first dark commute.
Who is most at risk on UK roads?
In 2025, 1,538 people were killed on Great Britain’s roads, 4% fewer than in 2024, but 29,918 were killed or seriously injured, a 4% rise. Pedestrian deaths fell 11%, yet the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed or seriously injured went up. The scorecard below compares the main groups of road users.
▼ green = fell, ▬ amber = small rise, ▲ red = larger rise. Source: Department for Transport, Reported road casualties Great Britain 2025 (road user type), published 30 July 2026. Figures are for all hours and light conditions, not only after dark. Single-city figures are on safety-app.uk.
Darker evenings checklist
Frequently asked questions
At 2am on Sunday 25 October 2026 the clocks go back one hour to 1am, and the UK returns to Greenwich Mean Time. They go forward again on the last Sunday in March. From that week, sunset comes around an hour earlier in the evening.
No. For pedestrians, the Highway Code advises bright or fluorescent clothing in poor daylight and reflective materials in the dark, but this is guidance, not a legal requirement. Cyclists are different: lights and reflectors on the bike are required by law at night.
Yes. The Highway Code says flashing lights are permitted. It recommends a steady front light where there are no street lights, so you can see the road and others can judge where you are.
Make sure you are safe first, as other drivers may not see you either. Call 999 or 112, give the exact location (see how to tell 999 where you are) and follow the call handler. If someone is bleeding heavily, see first aid for heavy bleeding.
More seasonal guides: Bonfire Night, Halloween and darker evenings, the recovery position, when to call 999, 101 or 111 and what to do if you think you’re being followed on a dark walk or drive home.
Sources
- GOV.UK: When do the clocks change?
- Department for Transport: Reported road casualties Great Britain, annual report 2025 (30 July 2026)
- Department for Transport: RRCGB 2025, road user type
- Department for Transport: pedestrian factsheet 2025
- RAC Foundation: Clock changes and personal injury collisions (October 2018)
- The Highway Code: rules for pedestrians (rules 2, 3 and 7)
- The Highway Code: rules for cyclists (rules 59 and 60)
- The Highway Code: rules for drivers and riders (rules 113 to 115, 125 and 126)
General road safety information, not legal advice. Northern Ireland has its own Highway Code (nidirect) and road casualty statistics. In an emergency, always call 999.
Keep reading
Heading home in the dark? Take your trusted circle with you
Safety App UK helps you plan safer routes on a live safety map built from police data and community reports, with police stations and Ask for Angela venues marked. Trigger an SOS by button or shake, or automatically in higher-crime zones, to send your live location and live video to a trusted circle, and get Safe Zone alerts when someone arrives home. It does not call the emergency services, so after a crash always dial 999 first. Free for 7 days, then £2.99 a month. For ages 16+.