Time to Turn Clocks Back, Check for Recalls
CARS.COM — It’s getting cooler out and darker in the mornings — two signs that daylight saving time is coming to an end. It’s time to turn the clocks back again this Sunday, but that’s not all you should do. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urges car owners to use this time to check their vehicle for outstanding safety recalls. Similarly, the National Safety Council wants to make sure motorists are ready to spend much more time commuting home from work in the dark.
Related: New Report Estimates Drowsy Driving Caused 5,000 Deaths in 2015
According to NSC, depth perception, color recognition and peripheral vision are compromised in the dark, and the glare of an oncoming vehicle’s headlights can temporarily blind a driver. NSC research shows that the risk of a fatal crash is three times greater at night, even though motorists do only one quarter of their driving at night.
The agency recommends these extra precautions to reduce crashes:
- Aim your headlights correctly and make sure they’re clean
- Dim your dashboard
- Look away from oncoming lights
- Even though the route may be familiar, don’t go on autopilot; stay alert
- If you wear glasses, make sure they’re anti-reflective
- Clean the windshield to eliminate streaks
- Slow down to compensate for limited visibility and reduced stopping time
- Minimize distractions, such as talking with passengers or listening to the radio
Another danger is lurking and it’s not just at night. With the Takata airbag inflator recall affecting more than 50 million cars from at least 10 automakers and being blamed for at least 11 deaths in the U.S., NHTSA is urging motorists check to see if their car has an unrepaired recall, Takata-related or otherwise. Unrepaired recalls are a huge safety problem: J.D. Power and Associates research released in July found more than 45 million vehicles recalled between 2013 and 2015 remain on the road unfixed.
Check your vehicle identification number using NHTSA’s online search tool, or search for a recall by the make and model of your vehicle here.
“We’d like to encourage Americans to add checking their vehicles for open recalls to their safety checklist. So many of us spend hours in the car commuting to work, driving to school, sports, etc. A quick safety check that takes a couple of minutes can help keep everyone safe on the road. We know: ‘Safe cars save lives’,” NHTSA said in a statement.
